Fourth Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable D. Richard Toth
Retention Year: 1990
Recommendation: Retain
Judicial Performance Commission’s recommendation: Should Be Retained.
Judge Toth was appointed as an El Paso County District Court judge on July 1, 1987. He handles a general caseload and also serves as presiding juvenile judge. He graduated from Colorado College in 1968 and received his law degree from Drake University in May 1975. For approximately one year after graduation from law school, Toth served as a VISTA volunteer for Pikes Peak Legal Services and then as a staff attorney for that organization. He served as Juvenile Court commissioner for El Paso County, and immediately prior to his District Court judicial appointment, served as County Court judge in this district.
All of the surveyed groups, consisting of attorneys, jurors, litigants, probation-social services personnel, staff and law enforcement persons, rated Toth to be substantially above average. Some respondents commented Toth is one of the best judges in the El Paso County District Court. Others thought he was sometimes unclear in his rulings because of his tendency to not speak clearly on the bench. However, he was praised for his integrity and courtesy. Jurors polled voted to retain by a very high margin as well.
Although the litigants polled unanimously voted to retain Toth, he did receive criticism from various litigants at the public retention hearing who questioned his fairness of some of his rulings.