First Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Peter A. Weir
Retention Year: 2006
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
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The First Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously recommends that Judge Peter A. Weir BE RETAINED.
Judge Weir was sworn in to the First Judicial District Court bench in November, 2004. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge Weir was a Deputy District Attorney in the First Judicial District and served for five years as Executive Director of the Colorado District Attorney’s Council. Judge Weir received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his law degree from the University of Denver. Like most District Judges in the First Judicial District, Judge Weir has a mixed docket handling criminal, civil and domestic relations cases.
The Commission reviewed attorney and non-attorney responses to the Judicial Performance Survey concerning Judge Weir, including written verbatim comments attached to the survey responses. The Commission also considered a written self- evaluation completed by Judge Weir, conducted unannounced courtroom visits and conducted a personal interview with Judge Weir.
Judge Weir received high ratings from both attorneys and non-attorneys in virtually every category, particularly in the areas of promptly making rulings during and after trial, overall communication, using language that everyone can understand and making clear, thorough and well reasoned written communications. Of the attorneys completing the written survey, 82% recommended that Judge Weir be retained in office and 18% recommended that he not be retained. Of the non-attorneys completing the written survey, 91% recommended retention and 9% recommended non-retention.
A few survey respondents complained that Judge Weir was biased toward the prosecution in criminal cases and overall all attorneys rated Judge Weir as moderately favoring the prosecution. While disagreeing that he is biased, during his interview, Judge Weir indicated that he would continue working toward ensuring that no one perceives that he is biased in any way. He has a great respect for the rule of law established by binding precedent.
The Commission was impressed with Judge Weir’s understanding of his role in the courtroom. He understands that what is going on in the courtroom is not about him, but about the litigants and other participants. His goal is to be as unobtrusive as possible, while maintaining control and decorum in the Courtroom and following the law.