Seventh Judicial District - San Miguel County Court Judge
Honorable Sharon Shuteran
Retention Year: 2010
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
Need an accessible PDF Document version?
Please click on the link below and email our staff
The Seventh Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance by unanimous vote recommends Judge Sharon Shuteran BE RETAINED.
Judge Shuteran received both an undergraduate and a law degree from University of Denver. Judge Shuteran is a member of the Seventh Judicial District and Colorado Bar Associations, the Colorado County Court Judges Association and the Colorado Council of Mediators and Mediation Organizations. She speaks in the community and schools about the judicial system and dispute resolution. She teaches for the San Miguel Resource Center, helps the schools with their conflict resolution programs and volunteers for numerous community events. In her private practice, Judge Shuteran offers mediation services.
Judge Shuteran was admitted to the practice of law in Colorado in 1978. She worked as a VISTA attorney for legal services in 1978 and 1979. She served as the Town Judge for Ophir and Assistant Town Judge in Telluride, and was a Deputy District Attorney before being appointed San Miguel County Court Judge in September of 1984. The position of San Miguel County Court Judge is part-time. Judge Shuteran’s workload consists of 20% civil, 8% criminal, 20% misdemeanor, 32% traffic, 13% traffic infractions, and 7% small claims.
She was strong in the areas of compassion, fairness and patience with litigants. The Commission identified Judge Shuteran’s verbosity as a weakness.
The Commission observed Judge Shuteran in the courtroom, reviewed her writings, conducted a personal interview, and reviewed her written self-evaluation. Eighty-eight percent of attorneys responding to the evaluation recommended that Judge Shuteran be retained in office, and 12% recommended that she not be retained. Of the non-attorneys,
73% recommended retention, 19% recommended non-retention, and 7% had no opinion. (These percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.)