Second Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Anita M. Schutte
Retention Year: 2024
Recommendation: Meets Performance Standards
Reports:
2024 Retention Survey Report (PDF)
2023 Interim Survey Report (PDF)
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The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agrees by a vote of 9–0, with one Commissioner vacancy, that Judge Anita M. Schutte MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. The Colorado statutory judicial performance criteria are integrity, legal knowledge, communication skills, judicial temperament, administrative performance, and service to the legal profession and the public.
Judge Schutte currently presides over domestic relations matters in the Denver District Court. Judge Schutte meets all aspects of the performance criteria on which she is evaluated. Judge Schutte’s written decisions are clear, thorough, and well-reasoned. Her notable strengths, observed by the Commission and described in survey responses, include being an attentive and patient listener to the parties and witnesses that appear before her, having an excellent judicial demeanor and conducting herself in a fair and impartial manner. The Commission, based on its observation and analysis of survey responses, did not identify any evaluation category in which Judge Schutte displayed a notable weakness as to the performance criteria. Judge Schutte exceeded the Court’s productivity benchmark for domestic relations courtrooms, completing approximately 98% of cases within 18 months.
The Commission met with the Chief Judge of Denver District Court to discuss challenges facing the court system. The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Schutte and observed her during court proceedings. It also reviewed opinions she authored, comments received from interested parties during the evaluation, recordings from her courtroom, case management data, and judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who interacted with her. The surveys reflected personal opinions regarding Judge Schutte in the categories of case management, application and knowledge of the law, communications, diligence, demeanor, and fairness. A total of 14 attorneys and 23 non-attorneys responded to the judicial performance surveys expressing their opinion of Judge Schutte. The overall information and data reviewed supports the Commission’s recommendation that Judge Schutte be retained.
Judge Schutte was appointed to the Denver District Court in 2022. Judge Schutte grew up in Aurora, Colorado. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver with a BA and from Whittier Law School with a JD. Prior to her appointment, Judge Schutte served as Second Assistant Colorado Attorney General representing the Colorado Department of Human Services. She has also served as a public defender, an assistant municipal court judge, and a private attorney. Judge Schutte co-founded the Colorado Disability Bar Association.