Fourth Judicial District - El Paso County Court Judge
Honorable Lawrence David Martin
Retention Year: 1998
Recommendation: Retain
The Fourth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Lawrence David Martin BE RETAINED.
Judge Martin attended St. Cloud State in Minnesota for two years prior to graduating from the University of Minnesota in 1976. After graduation he traveled around the world before attending law school. He worked days and attended William Mitchell College of Law at night and graduated in 1982. He worked as an investigator for the St. Paul City Attorney's Office before moving to Colorado Springs in 1983. Judge Martin was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 1984.
Prior to his appointment to the El Paso County Court, he worked in the Colorado Springs legal clinic and he was in private practice specializing in DUI, traffic, and domestic cases. In 1990 he was appointed Magistrate for Division X in the Fourth Judicial District and his judicial assignments involved domestic and divorce cases. On August 13, 1996, he was appointed to the County Bench and on March 1, 1998, was appointed by Chief Judge Martinez as Presiding County Court Judge.
Since his appointment in 1996, Judge Martin has presided over civil, traffic, and misdemeanor cases. He has yet to hear a civil jury trial in his court.
Judge Martin is highly rated in all areas surveyed. A total of 105 evaluations were received from attorneys, court employees, litigants, law enforcement, and jurors. His overall rating was 88%.
Major strength is his docket management ability, which he attributes to his six years as a Magistrate. He feels he can efficiently manage his docket yet balance the time needed to patiently conduct hearings as required. On the other hand, his critics contend that he needs to be more punctual and start proceedings on time. Judge Martin recognizes this and is making a greater effort to improve in this area.
We have a judge who enjoys his work, takes pride in doing things right, and takes pleasure in seeing things run smoothly. His new appointment to Presiding County Court Judge will be a challenge. It is a position he will have to grow into and recognizes that he needs to establish and be comfortable in this new leadership role.