Seventeenth Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Donald W. Marshall Jr.
Retention Year: 1994
Recommendation: Retain
Judge Donald W. Marshall, Jr. was appointed to the Adams County District Court in 1986. He is a graduate of the University of Denver where he received both his undergraduate and law degrees. He entered into the practice of law in 1972. Prior to his appointment as a judge, Judge Marshall was in private practice with an emphasis on civil law.
Judge Marshall has served in civil, domestic relations, roving and criminal divisions since his appointment to the court. He is currently serving in the civil division having recently completed serving in the criminal division of the court.
The Commission believed that survey results as they pertain to Judge Marshall should be viewed with caution because of the small sample size. Of particular concern to the commission was the fact that no survey questionnaires were provided to the members of the District Attorney’s Office, this despite the fact that several attorneys in this office appeared before Judge Marshall on a daily basis for his entire tenure on the criminal bench.
Of those who responded to the survey questionnaire, 67.5% believed that Judge Marshall should be retained, 23.8% believed he should not be retained, and 8.7% had no opinion. Of non-attorney respondents, 75% believed he should be retained and 25% believed he should not be retained. Of attorney respondents, 66.7% believed he should be retained, 23.6% believed he should not be retained and 9.7% had no opinion.
Judge Marshall scored highest in the areas of diligence of work, promptness of rulings, decisions and commencement of proceedings, and his knowledge of evidence and procedure. He scored lowest in his display of compassion, appropriateness of demeanor, and courteousness. In all other areas, Judge Marshall received relatively high scores.
Positive comments from respondents generally included statements indicating that Judge Marshall is very intelligent, well-prepared and knowledgeable on the law and procedure. Negative comments from respondents generally included statements indicating Judge Marshall can be curt and discourteous at times. Of all judges interviewed by the commission, Judge Marshall was the most impressive. Judge Marshall’s average score was 4.83 on a scale of one to five, where five is excellent and four was good. All but one member of the commission rated this judge’s performance as excellent and the remaining member rated him as good. The commission members found Judge Marshall to be a thoughtful and deliberate judge who is conscientious and dedicated. He was the most prepared of the judge who appeared before the commission. The commission unanimously voted to RECOMMEND RETENTION.