Fourth Judicial District - El Paso County Court Judge
Honorable Ann M. Rotolo
Retention Year: 2010
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
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The Fourth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance, by a unanimous vote of 9-0, recommends that Judge Ann M. Rotolo BE RETAINED. One Commissioner was absent.
Judge Rotolo graduated with honors from Miami University, Ohio, and then earned her law degree from the University of Denver Law School. Judge Rotolo serves on the Colorado Supreme Court’s Civil Rules Committee. She also serves on the Cheyenne Mountain Heritage Center Board of Trustees, and recently graduated from the Colorado Springs Leadership Institute. Judge Rotolo judges for the high school Mock Trial competition and for Teen Court. In addition, she participates in the “Our Courts” speaker program.
Judge Rotolo served as a Deputy County Attorney for El Paso County from 1994 to 1998. She was in private practice from 1998 to 2001, and then served as a Magistrate for the Fourth Judicial District for seven years. Judge Rotolo was appointed to the County Court bench in 2008. Judge Rotolo hears miscellaneous traffic offenses, misdemeanors and civil cases involving amounts of $15,000 or less.
The Commission reviewed written evaluations of Judge Rotolo from attorneys and non-attorneys, including written verbatim comments attached to the evaluation questionnaires. The Commission also considered a written self-evaluation completed by Judge Rotolo, conducted a personal interview with Judge Rotolo and observed her in courtroom sessions. Judge Rotolo strives to do justice and to uphold the law. She works to assure that everyone appearing in her court has a reasonable opportunity to be heard and that they are treated fairly and impartially. On the evaluation questionnaires, Judge Rotolo received high ratings from both attorneys and non-attorneys in almost every category. Judge Rotolo received particularly high ratings in being viewed as “completely neutral.” 88% of the attorneys surveyed believed she was “completely neutral” compared to the average for all other county judges statewide of 48%. Similarly, 90% of the non-attorneys surveyed believed Judge Rotolo was “completely neutral” compared to the average for all other county judges statewide of 78%.
Of the 43 attorneys surveyed about retention, 93% recommended to retain, 6% not to retain, and 3% expressed no opinion. Excluding those who had no opinion, 94% recommended to retain and 6% not to retain. Of the 59 non-attorneys surveyed, 94% recommended to retain, 4% not to retain, and 2% expressed no opinion. Excluding those who had no opinion, 97% recommended to retain and 4% not to retain. (These percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.)