Nineteenth Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Roger A. Klein
Retention Year: 1998
Recommendation: Retain
The Nineteenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Roger A. Klein BE RETAINED.
Judge Klein was appointed to the District Court in the Criminal Division on June 29, 1995. Prior to his appointment, he was a practicing attorney specializing in domestic relations and estate planning.
Judge Klein currently hears 99% criminal cases some of which have been very high profile.
A majority of those surveyed in questionnaires distributed to law enforcement personnel, jurors, court/probation employees, and attorneys who have been involved in court proceedings before Judge Klein recommended he be retained. Twenty-three (92%) out of 25 court/probation employees, 24 (77.4%) out of 31 attorneys, and 13 (76.5%) out of 17 law enforcement personnel recommended Judge Klein's retention. Victims, litigants and Social Service employees were also sampled, but their response rate was too small to be representative.
Based on a review of written evaluations by the groups surveyed, Judge Klein received praise for being fair, stable, conscientious, hard working, even tempered, and for doing an exceptional job with some high profile cases. Communication was identified in the surveys and in Judge Klein's self-evaluation as an area that needed improvement.