Fourth Judicial District - El Paso County Court Judge
Honorable Sylvia A. Manzanares
Retention Year: 1998
Recommendation: Retain
The Fourth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Sylvia A. Manzanares BE RETAINED.
Judge Manzanares was born and raised in the Trinidad, Colorado area. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder and then went on to law school at the University of Colorado at Boulder, from which she graduated in 1977.
Before being appointed to the County Court Bench in August of 1995, Judge Manzanares worked as an Assistant Attorney General, an Administrative Law Judge, a Small Claims Magistrate, and also saw service as a Colorado Springs Municipal Court Judge. She has been in private practice and also employed by Colorado Rural Legal Services.
On the El Paso County Court Bench, Judge Manzanares handles domestic relations, restraining orders, evictions, civil cases under $10,000, as well as misdemeanors and miscellaneous traffic offenses. Among attorneys responding to a survey, 85.2% voted for retention. An overwhelming number of attorneys thought that she was punctual, knowledgeable, and maintained appropriate demeanor and control in the courtroom. The jurors that appeared before her thought that she was an exemplary judge and 95.7% responded that she should be retained in office.
Judge Manzanares felt, and the Commission agreed, that a goal of becoming more proficient in the area of civil law was desirable.