Second Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable William G. Meyer
Retention Year: 1994
Recommendation: Retain
Judge Meyer received his law degree from the University of Denver in 1975. He was appointed district judge in September 1984. Before his appointment, Judge Meyer was a First Assistant Attorney General in the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, and before that he was in private practice. From 1975 to 1980, Judge Meyer was a deputy district attorney in the Denver District Attorney’s Office. His areas of specialization include civil and criminal litigation. He has served over the last ten years in courtrooms involving domestic relations, criminal and civil cases.
Highlights of survey results indicate that Judge Meyer devotes a considerable amount of time and energy to his work on the bench. In addition to a demanding court docket, he regularly lectures on legal topics to judge, lawyers, and law students, and he has published several articles on legal topics. In surveys received by the Commission, Judge Meyer is highly rated in all areas of judicial performance. Judge Meyer is businesslike and some persons appearing in his courtroom fell he could create a friendlier atmosphere.
Judge Meyer initiated and is in charge of a major new project in Denver District Court call “Drug Court.” Virtually all cases involving the sale or use of drugs will be referred to Denver’s Drug Court for resolution. Judge Meyer has spent considerable time and energy over the past months developing procedures to appropriately balance punishment and rehabilitation in drug cases. He is a member of a special drug court committee and the Drug Court started in Denver on July, 1994. The Drug Court will include special monitoring of treatment, and goals for the first year include refinement of the judicial process for handling drug cases, cutting case disposition time to 100 days, early assessment and treatment, and identification of the best providers to assist in minimizing the impact of drug abuse on individuals and the community. Judge Meyer is the co-author of a recent article in The Colorado Lawyer entitled “Sentencing the Drug Offender.”
The Second Judicial District Commission on Performance recommends Judge Meyer BE RETAINED.