Seventh Judicial District - Ouray County Court Judge
Honorable David Scott Westfall
Retention Year: 2010
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
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The Seventh Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance by unanimous vote recommends Judge David Scott Westfall BE RETAINED.
Judge Westfall received an undergraduate degree from Colorado State University. He graduated from The Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1977. Judge Westfall was admitted to the practice of law in Colorado in 1983. He is a member of the Seventh Judicial District and Colorado Bar Associations. Judge Westfall limits his participation in community functions to anonymous financial contributions because he finds personal service in a small community difficult due to potential conflicts with his judicial position.
Judge Westfall was appointed Ouray County Court Judge on January 1, 2000. He also covers cases in Montrose, San Miguel and Delta County Courts. His workload consists of 10% civil, 10% criminal, 20% misdemeanor, 35% traffic, 10% traffic infractions, and 15% small claims. He serves as the Municipal Court Judge in Ouray, Ridgway and Telluride.
He was strong in the areas of compassionately dealing with people and their legal problems.
The Commission observed Judge Westfall in the courtroom, reviewed his writings, conducted a personal interview, and reviewed his written self-evaluation. The Commission found that Judge Westfall appropriately controls his courtroom, manages his docket in an efficient manner, makes rulings based on merits of the case at hand and applies the law fairly. Eighty-two percent of attorneys responding to the evaluation recommended that Judge Westfall be retained in office, 13% percent recommended that he not be retained, and 5% percent had no opinion. Of the non-attorneys, 74% percent recommended retention, 13% percent recommended non-retention, and 13% percent had no opinion.