Lombardi, Kerri 2018 Evaluation

Reports:
2018 Retention Survey Report
2017 Interim Survey Report

The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance, unanimously (10-0) finds that Judge Kerri Lombardi MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

Judge Lombardi was appointed to the Denver County Court in May 2015. Judge Lombardi received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver, Strum College of Law and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Prior to her appointment, Judge Lombardi was a Chief Deputy District Attorney in Denver for 20 years and supervised the County Court Division of the Denver District Attorney’s Office. While in her role as Chief Deputy District Attorney, Judge Lombardi served as the co-chief and then chief of the Family Violence Unit, which specialized in the prosecution of domestic violence cases and crimes against children. Judge Lombardi is currently a member of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association and LGBT Bar Association. Judge Lombardi currently presides in a misdemeanor criminal division and previously presided in traffic court and the general sessions division.

The Commission reviewed the results of surveys submitted by attorneys and non-attorneys, including written verbatim comments, interviews of the Chief Judge of the County Court, the Denver District Attorney, and the head of the public defender’s office in Denver County and transcripts of oral rulings by Judge Lombardi in three cases. The Commission also considered a written self-evaluation completed by Judge Lombardi, conducted a personal interview with her, and some members of the Commission observed Judge Lombardi in court. Among the survey questions was “based on your responses to the previous questions related to the performance evaluation criteria, do you think Judge Lombardi meets judicial performance standards?”  Of the 30 attorneys responding, 79% of attorneys indicated Judge Lombardi met performance standards, 18% indicated she did not meet performance standards and 4% had no opinion (difference due to rounding). Of the 48 non-attorneys responding, 91% indicated Judge Lombardi met performance standards, 6% indicated she did not meet performance standards and 2% had no opinion (difference due to rounding).
 
Attorneys scored Judge Lombardi slightly higher than the average of judges standing for retention in the areas of case management and diligence but lower than average for application and knowledge of the law, communications and demeanor. Non-attorneys rated Judge Lombardi higher than average in all areas of judicial performance. Comments from attorneys that were critical of Judge Lombardi were related to judicial demeanor, impartiality and fairness. In its overall evaluation, the Commission found some support for the critical comments. In her initial interview, Judge Lombardi did not articulate a clear path to addressing concerns about demeanor that were raised in the surveys, Commission interviews and observation. However, Judge Lombardi subsequently initiated her own comprehensive improvement plan addressing these issues. Based on these findings, and recognizing that she is a relatively new judge, the Commission unanimously concluded Judge Lombardi meets judicial performance standards.