Sixth Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Gregory G. Lyman
Retention Year: 2010
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
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The Sixth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously recommends that Chief Judge Gregory G. Lyman BE RETAINED, with one Commissioner absent.
Judge Lyman was appointed to the Sixth Judicial District Court bench by Governor Roy Romer in June of 1996. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Lyman worked at the District Attorney’s Office in the Seventh and Sixth Judicial District. Judge Lyman was in private practice both in Wheatland, Wyoming and Durango, Colorado, specializing in Domestic Relations, Criminal Defense and Insurance Defense until he was elected District Attorney for the Sixth Judicial District in 1992. Judge Lyman graduated from University of Colorado School of Law in 1979.
The Commission reviewed written surveys of Judge Lyman from attorneys and non-attorneys, including written verbatim comments included in the questionnaires. Commission members observed Judge Lyman to evaluate his courtroom demeanor and were pleased with the manner in which he handled his cases and treated the parties, lawyers, and witnesses. The Commission also considered a written self-evaluation completed by Judge Lyman and conducted a personal interview. Public notice of written commentary was published in the newspapers in the judicial district.
Judge Lyman is the Chief Judge of the Sixth Judicial District. He also serves as Water Judge for Water Court Division 7. Judge Lyman chairs the Minority Over-Representation Committee and the Access to Justice Committee which ensures access to the courts for all and ensures that issues of over representation of minorities in our system continually be examined. Judge Lyman has not had a significant change in his case load since 2004 but his Water Court case filings have increased substantially as they concern more structures. A structure, in Colorado water law, is defined as a well, gate, or water use which requires a permit within the jurisdiction of the Water Court. In 2008, the Water Court case filings addressed 252 structures and by 2009, the case filings addressed 3,558 structures. To date, in 2010 he received case filings which concern 1,437 structures. Despite this increase, Judge Lyman has continued to meet his goal of significantly reducing the length of time a case remains open. Judge Lyman received the Southwest Bar Association Professionalism Award in 2003.
Judge Lyman has a reputation in the community for fairness and integrity. He received high marks in every category of performance review. Of the attorneys responding to the questionnaire, 97% recommended that Judge Lyman be retained in office, while 3% did not have an opinion. Of all attorneys responding, not one recommended to not retain Judge Lyman. Similar results were achieved in the non-attorney category. Of the non-attorneys responding to the surveys 95% voted in favor of retention and only 3% voted not to retain him. Judge Lyman’s favorable judicial performance statistics place him among the highest levels achieved by any district judge in Colorado. The Sixth Judicial District is well served by Chief Judge Gregory G. Lyman.