Colorado Court of Appeals
Honorable Terry Fox
Retention Year: 2022
Recommendation: Meets Performance Standard
Reports:
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The Commission on Judicial Performance finds that Judge Terry Fox MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, by a vote of 10-0 with one recusal. 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.
Judge Fox has been on the Colorado Court of Appeals for 11 years and is now one of the most senior members on the court. The Commission finds that Judge Fox writes timely, thoughtful, and well-reasoned opinions. At oral argument, she asks good questions and is exceptionally courteous to all parties. Judge Fox is to be commended for volunteering for a special division to address the pandemic-related backlog, which has added to her already significant caseload. The Commission finds that Judge Fox is a valuable asset to the Court of Appeals.
To conduct our evaluation, the Commission interviewed Judge Fox, reviewed her self-evaluation, observed oral arguments, read a selection of her legal opinions, and considered survey responses from attorneys and judges. One survey question asked whether Judge Fox met judicial performance standards. Of the attorneys who responded to that question, 71% answered yes, 21% answered no, and 8% had no opinion. Of the judges who responded to that question, 91% answered yes, 7% answered no and 3% expressed no opinion. A total of 75 attorneys and judges responded to the survey.
Judge Fox was appointed to the Colorado Court of Appeals on September 1, 2010 and began her term in January of 2011. She graduated with a degree in chemical engineering and petroleum refining from the Colorado School of Mines in 1989; received her J.D from Houston’s South Texas College of Law and her L.L.M. from Duke School of Law. Prior to her appointment to the Colorado Court of Appeals, Judge Fox served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Colorado, working as trial counsel to federal agencies and specializing in environmental law. She has also worked for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and as an associate at Holland and Hart, after clerking for Justice Craig Enoch on the Texas Supreme Court. She graduated from Brighton High School in Colorado. Judge Fox is very involved in efforts to educate students and the public about the judicial system through her many community and professional activities. Within the court, she has been assigned to train new judges and spends a significant amount of her time mentoring and training her newer colleagues.