Fourth Judicial District - El Paso County Court Judge
Honorable Ann M. Rotolo
Retention Year: 2014
Recommendation: Meets Performance Standard
Reports:
2014 Retention Survey Report (PDF)
2013 Interim Survey Report (PDF)
2011 Interim Survey Report (PDF)
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The Forth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously recommends, by a vote of 8-0, that Judge Ann M. Rotolo BE RETAINED.
Judge Rotolo completed her Law degree at the University of Denver Law School. She served as a Deputy County Attorney in El Paso County between 1994 and 1998. From 1998 to 2001 she was in private practice until she was appointed a Magistrate for the Forth Judicial District where she served for seven years. In 2008 she was appointed to the County Court bench and hears 80% Misdemeanor cases and 20% Civil cases. Judge Rotolo sits on the Supreme Court Civil Rules Committee, the State Personnel Rules Committee and the Disciplinary Review Board. She has completed the Basic Certification Program for Mediators. She participates in the Judicially Speaking Program, Our Courts Program and Teen Court. She is involved with Scouts and volunteers with Kids on Bikes.
The Commission met with Judge Rotolo for a personal interview and observed her in the courtroom. She completed a personal evaluation and submitted examples of her written orders. 121 Attorneys and 152 non-attorneys were surveyed and given the opportunity to make written comments on the strengths and weaknesses of the judge. Among attorneys 70% recommended Judge Rotolo be retained, 22% do not retain and 8% made no recommendation regarding retention. With non-attorneys 85% recommended to retain, 8% do not retain and 7% made no recommendation regarding retention. (These percentages may not total 100% due to rounding).
Judge Rotolo had very high scores for neutrality among non-attorneys with 87% believing she was “completely neutral”. Fifty-eight percent of attorneys rated her “completely neutral” with 10% stating there was somewhat of a prosecution bias and 22% voting she had a defense bias. Judge Rotolo scored at the exact average of other county judges with non-attorneys. Her scores were strong for communication, demeanor and diligence. Among attorneys, the judge’s scores fell below average particularly in case management, application and knowledge of the law and diligence. Judge Rotolo expressed her concern regarding this and her ongoing commitment to work to continue to develop with excellence as a Judge. She had a number of personal and family issues that significantly challenged her during this retention process and she feels she has weathered these with dignity and represented the judiciary well. This was affirmed by both attorneys and non-attorneys by their many comments of her pleasant, caring, kind and compassionate demeanor, while running a fair and efficient courtroom.