Seventeenth Judicial District - Adams County Court Judge
Honorable Jeffrey L. Romeo
Retention Year: 1992
Recommendation: Retain
Judge Jeffrey L. Romeo received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado on May 24, 1974, where he majored in Business. He was awarded his law degree by the University of Colorado on May 20, 1977, and he was admitted to the bar on October 17, 1977. He practiced law with a private firm before joining the Adams County District Attorney’s staff. Then, from March 1985 until June, 1990, he was in private practice. He was appointed to the bench in April, 1990. He presently presides over criminal cases in the county court and takes other assignments as needed.
Judge Romeo received uniformly high ratings from all of the groups who filled out the questionnaires. Due to the very small sample of responses, it is advisable that the low number be considered and given less weight in assessing the performance of this judge. The statistical significance of this small sample is, therefore, questionable.
Fourteen of the fifteen attorneys who responded felt that Judge Romeo displays a sense of justice and has an adequate knowledge of the law. Only one attorney of those responding expressed a strong opinion that Judge Romeo was not performing well in all areas. Over 90% of the lawyers felt that his oral rulings were clear. He was rated very high on having an appropriate demeanor, maintaining courtroom control, being courteous and displaying compassion. Judge Romeo was viewed as being a diligent worker, rendering prompt rulings and decisions. One comment was the Judge Romeo was an “outstanding trial jurist.” There were no written negative comments. All but one attorney recommended retention.
Both of the jurors who returned questionnaires rated Judge Romeo very high in all categories and both of them recommended he be retained.
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Of the 28 litigant respondents, over 82% gave Judge Romeo high marks on each question asked. Comments on some of the questionnaires were that Judge Romeo has an excellent demeanor on the bench by the starts court late. He was described as a “really good judge” who gives everyone a fair chance; he is very fair and understanding; and he listens and does not pressure people. Nineteen of the litigants recommended retention, two litigants did not recommend retention and seven did not provide an opinion.
Seven law enforcement officers responded to the questionnaires, with the majority of them indicating they though Judge Romeo was doing a good job. One of the officers commented that the judge does not deal with bond deviations adequately. Six officers state the judge should be retained and one officer failed to indicate a preference.
Judge Romeo received high marks from most of the courthouse personnel. One person wrote Judge Romeo is new but has had the experience of being on both sides of the courtroom in the past, adding to his ability to be fair and a good judge. Other comments were that Judge Romeo comes to work late, takes long lunch breaks, leaves early, is chronically late for court and is inconsiderate to those involved in the court process. Seven of those responding indicated he should be retained, while one indicated he should not be retained.
The Commission members who interviewed Judge Romeo were impressed with his answers to their questions based upon the hypothetical factual setting. He scored 3.4 on the scale of zero to four, the high point of the scale being 4.
The 17th Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Jeffrey L. Romeo be Retained.