Fifteenth Judicial District - Cheyenne County Court Judge
Honorable Paul D. Tallman
Retention Year: 2002
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
The Fifteenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Paul D. Tallman BE RETAINED.
Judge Tallman was appointed to the position of County Judge in Cheyenne County on November 8, 1986. Judge Tallman received his undergraduate degree from the University of Denver in 1970 and his law degree from the University of Denver College of Law in 1973. He has lived in Cheyenne County most of his life and is primarily employed running the family farming business. Judge Tallman hears traffic, criminal and civil cases and has served as a County Court Judge in Cheyenne County for over 15 years. During the past two years, Judge Tallman’s workload has consisted of 10% civil, 75% traffic and 10% misdemeanor criminal matters.
The Commission reviewed written evaluations of Judge Tallman from attorneys and non-attorneys, including written verbatim comments attached to the evaluation questionnaires. The Commission also considered a written self-evaluation completed by Judge Tallman, conducted a personal interview with him and held a public hearing at which no negative comments were received regarding the judge.
Judge Tallman is active in the schools in Cheyenne Wells, at times speaking to students about the judicial system and process. Judge Tallman takes care to explain court procedures to litigants who appear before him without an attorney. He has the utmost respect for the judicial system and would not consider circumventing the judicial process in deciding a case.
Judge Tallman received high ratings from attorneys in virtually all categories, with 100% of the attorneys surveyed recommending his retention. Judge Tallman received good to high ratings from non-attorneys in virtually every category, with only 20% of non-attorneys not recommending retention. Judge Tallman was scored highest by attorneys and non-attorneys in the areas of being courteous; being patient; having a professional demeanor; being fair and impartial; and providing clear, thorough and well-reasoned decisions. Judge Tallman’s scores were not as high in the area of being punctual in commencing proceedings, which is an area that he acknowledges needs improvement and an area in which he is implementing changes with the goal of commencing proceedings in a more timely manner.