Fifth Judicial District - Lake County Court Judge
Honorable Wayne Patton
Retention Year: 2008
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
Need an accessible PDF Document version?
Please click on the link below and email our staff
The Fifth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously recommends that Judge Wayne Patton BE RETAINED.
Judge Patton received his bachelor’s degree from Denison University in 1980, and his law degree from the University of Denver College of Law in 1983. He was in private practice in Pueblo until 1990, when he moved to Leadville, where in addition to his private practice he served as Leadville city attorney and special attorney for Lake County. He was appointed as the part-time Lake County Court judge in 2001, and in addition has served as a County Court magistrate for Eagle and Summit Counties since 2007.
The Commission reviewed written evaluations of Judge Patton from attorneys and non-attorneys, as well as a written self evaluation completed by Judge Patton. A personal interview of Judge Patton was conducted by the Commission, and members of the Commission observed Judge Patton in the courtroom during several proceedings.
The commission is overwhelmingly positive about Judge Patton due to his professionalism, fairness, listening skills, integrity, compassion, preparedness and other qualities. Judge Patton takes the time needed to ensure everyone knows their rights whether they are represented by an attorney or pro se. Judge Patton is compassionate in the way he treats people in his courtroom and in the decisions he renders while still following the law. The Commission is also impressed that Judge Patton continues to further his education and work on areas he views as shortcomings. Judge Patton consistently ranks higher than other judges in nearly every category in both the attorney and non attorney surveys, even in areas where Judge Patton ranks himself low.
Questionnaires received by the Commission from both attorneys and non-attorneys that have appeared in his courtroom uniformly rate Judge Patton high overall, and above average in the same areas of fairness, demeanor, diligence and application of the law. One-hundred percent (excluding undecided) of attorneys responding strongly recommend retention of Judge Patton, with 83% of responding non-attorneys sharing this strong recommendation.