Tenth Judicial District - Pueblo County Court Judge
Honorable Steven B. Fieldman
Retention Year: 2022
Recommendation: Meets Performance Standard
The Tenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agreed with a total of 9 commissioners present that Judge Steven B. Fieldman MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. The Colorado statutory judicial performance standards are integrity, legal knowledge, communication skills, judicial temperament, administrative performance, and service to the legal profession and the public.
The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Fieldman on June 1, 2022, and also interviewed the Chief District Judge Deborah Eyler, District Attorney Jeff Chostner and Chief Public Defender Albert Singleton on May 3, 2022. The Commission reviewed opinions Judge Fieldman authored and observed him in court on numerous occasions. Judge Fieldman is described as being passionate about his work and that he is a fair and knowledgeable judge. There were concerns raised that Judge Fieldman at times can say things out of frustration that are not becoming of the bench and can be harsh with new lawyers. Judge Fieldman acknowledges that he can at time express his frustrations with attorneys and is trying to be more mindful of how he communicates while on the bench. Judge Fieldman also acknowledges that he at times finds himself educating younger attorneys and that he is working on being more mindful about how and when he provides this feedback. Judge Fieldman stated he enjoys his job, co-workers and staff.
The Commission reviewed judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who had interaction in Judge Fieldman's court. Among the survey questions was 11based on your responses to the previous questions related to the performance evaluation criteria, do you think Judge Fieldman meets judicial performance standards?11 Of the attorneys responding to the survey, 64% answered yes; 36% answered no; and 0% had no opinion. Of the non-attorneys responding to the survey, 94% answered yes; 2% said no and 4% had no opinion. A total of 27 attorneys and 53 non-attorneys responded to the judicial performance surveys expressing their opinion of Judge Fieldman. Judge Fieldman received ratings above the statewide average among county court judges with a 3.5 as compared to 3.4 for all county court judges standing for retention with regard to all the areas surveyed: (1) case management, (2) application and knowledge of law, (3) communications, (4) demeanor, (5) diligence; and (6) fairness.
Judge Fieldman was appointed to the Pueblo County Court Bench in November of 2007 and started serving in January of 2008. Prior to his appointment, Judge Fieldman served 14 years as a Deputy District Attorney in the Tenth Judicial District. Judge Fieldman is a past Vice-President of the Colorado Bar Association, Past-President of the Pueblo County Bar Association and is a graduate of the Colorado Bar Association Leadership Training Program (COBALT 2008). Judge Fieldman is actively involved in various community activities and serves or has served on numerous boards to include, the Board of Directors of Crossroads' Turning Point, Senior Resource Development Agency, and Catholic Charities of Southern Colorado. Judge fieldman is a contributing editor of the DUI bench book and serves on several Colorado Supreme Court Committees. Judge Fieldman graduated from Clark University in 1988 and the University of Denver College of Law in 1992.