Seventh Judicial District - San Miguel County Court Judge
Honorable Sharon Shuteran
Retention Year: 1990
Recommendation: Retain
Judicial Performance Commission’s recommendation: Should Be Retained.
Judge Shuteran, 36, has been the San Miguel County Judge for almost six years. A 1978 graduate of the University of Denver College of Law, she was admitted to the Colorado bar the same year. Prior to sitting on the bench, Shuteran worked as a legal services attorney (1978-79), a deputy district attorney in San Miguel County (1981-83) for the Seventh Judicial District and practiced law in 1980 and 1981. She is a former Ophir town judge and a former assistant town judge for Telluride. Judge Shuteran is also a restaurant owner and manager.
Her community involvement includes being interviewer-producer of Voices and Visions, and interview show on community radio, volunteering at the annual Telluride Film Festival and other events, and presiding as a judge in the fifth grade mock trial.
Shuteran is a 35% part-time judge. She handles preliminary hearings in felony cases, traffic cases, and civil cases in which the claims do not involve more than $5,000. Shuteran conducts a greater number of jury trials than normally would be expected with a part-time judge.
Survey responses largely were positive regarding Shuteran’s knowledge of the law, her demeanor and integrity. Some survey responses indicated a dissatisfaction with her court clerks and with a perceived permissiveness in her courtroom; however, the general impression from the surveys is that her performance as county judge is adequate.