Tenth Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Tim O'Shea
Retention Year: 2024
Recommendation: Meets Performance Standards
Reports:
2024 Retention Survey Report (PDF)
2023 Interim Survey Report (PDF)
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The Tenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agrees by a vote of 6-0 with two commissioners absent and two vacancies that Judge Tim O'Shea MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Judge O'Shea presides over the Mental Health docket, twenty percent of the District Court Civil docket, and more than eighty percent of the total Probate Docket for the Tenth Judicial District. Comments received by attorneys and non-attorneys alike describe Judge O'Shea's courtroom demeanor as respectful, fair, attentive to the facts and issues presented during proceedings and extremely thoughtful in the analysis of his rulings. Specific strengths also noted the effectiveness with which he communicates his reasoning and decisions so all parties, a lot of whom are unrepresented, are able to clearly understand his rulings. Responses illustrated a common theme related to an opportunity for improvement for Judge O'Shea in his docket management, specifically the timeliness with which orders are issued. Judge O'Shea openly acknowledges the need for progress in this area and has undertaken steps to remediate this issue. Judge O'Shea has engaged a peer-to-peer coach, a Weld County District Court Judge, to help him in this area. He has also taken it upon himself to cultivate helpful mentoring relationships with the presiding Judge of the Denver Probate Court and a former probate practitioner and Public Administrator for the Tenth Judicial District. In addition to engaging mentors to assist him in his professional development in this facet of his performance, Judge O'Shea has a concrete plan to alleviate his backlog of orders and assist in more timely resolution moving forward.
The Commission evaluated authored opinions of Judge O'Shea, conducted courtroom observations, reviewed judicial performance survey responses, a self-evaluation, and participated in an interview with Judge O'Shea. Respondents to the survey on judicial performance were asked to state their opinion on whether Judge O'Shea meets judicial performance standards. Of the 34 attorneys who responded, one hundred percent indicated "yes, meets performance standards." Of the five non-attorneys, three responded "yes," and only one responded "no," with two stating "no opinion."
In 2021, Judge O'Shea was appointed to the District Court for the Tenth Judicial District. Judge O'Shea is a Colorado native and completed his undergraduate studies at Colorado College. He received his Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law after having worked for an international corporation for ten years prior to attending law school. His prior practice experience includes having been a solo practitioner, an attorney for the Cook County, Illinois Office of the Public Defender, and a local Pueblo practitioner from 2013 until his appointment. He has formerly served as Board Chair for the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center, Board Member of the Arts Academy at Pueblo County H.S., and President of the Pueblo County Bar Association. He is a current member of the National College of Probate Judges.