Twenty-First Judicial District - Mesa County Court Judge
Honorable Arthur R. Smith
Retention Year: 1990
Recommendation: Retain
Judicial Performance Commission’s recommendation: Should Be Retained.
Judge Smith is a graduate of the University of Colorado and was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 1968. He served as an attorney in both the Pueblo and Colorado Rural Legal Services system before becoming an assistant Mesa County district attorney from 1974-1983.
County judge since January 1983.
As a county court judge, he presides primarily over traffic, misdemeanor criminal offenses, and some civil cases. He conducts preliminary hearings in felony criminal cases and also presides over small claims court.
The questionnaires of litigants, law enforcement, probation, social services, court employees, jurors and attorneys that have appeared in Smith’s courtroom were all highly favorable.
There is a general agreement among the members of the review committee that Smith is a fair minded, hard-working and well organized jurist who handles an inordinately heavy caseload efficiently and uncomplainingly with minimal assistance from auxiliary support services.