Sixteenth Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Michael Schiferl
Retention Year: 2004
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
The Sixteenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance strongly recommends that Judge Michael Schiferl BE RETAINED.
Judge Schiferl was appointed to the District Court of the Sixteenth Judicial District serving Bent, Otero and Crowley counties in 2002. He has served within that capacity from that time until the present. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Schiferl practiced law for 22 years, practicing both civil and criminal law.
The Commission notes that 94% of the attorneys surveyed recommended retention, and that 77% of non-attorneys recommended retention. Concerning his overall case management, Judge Schiferl ranked comparable to all judges and all trial judges in efficiency and rankings.
Judge Schiferl consistently has been rated by attorneys, clerks and litigants to be kind, fair, courteous and polite. The Commission notes his writing skills have substantially improved and he is diligently working to speed the processing of orders. His dedication to improvement and hard work has been uniformly noted.
The Commission is impressed with Judge Schiferl's performance and believes that he is a credible and outstanding district judge. Judge Schiferl is committed to providing litigants with fair and prompt determinations, providing a prejudice and bias free courtroom and providing an appropriate forum for the interface between the legal system and Sixteenth Judicial District residents.
The Commission unanimously voted to strongly recommend retention of Judge Michael Schiferl.