2026 retention · District Court · 2nd Judicial District
62 percentile · rank 25 of 65
composite 0100
59 percentile · rank 44 of 108
composite 0100
32 76th percentile among peers · 79th percentile statewide
1054
Composite index 62.82 among peers (58.18 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.20 of 4 · 56.15 percentile
2.103.80
3.30 of 4 · 65.38 percentile
2.073.82
93.00% 66.92 percentile
25.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 93.00%
Non-attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 76.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.10median 3.20 | 3.20 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.30median 3.10 | 3.10 | |
| Communications | 3.40median 3.30 | 3.30 | |
| Diligence | 3.20median 3.10 | 3.10 | |
| Demeanor | 3.40median 3.30 | 3.30 | |
| Fairness | 3.40median 3.10 | 3.10 |
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade | 3.40 | 3.50 | 3.50 | 3.40 | 3.90 | 2.90 | 3.40 |
| Responses | 35 | 23 | 29 | 43 | 45 | 20 | 29 |
Commission: meets standards (10–0)
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agrees by a vote of 10-0 that Judge Christopher J. Baumann MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. The Colorado statutory judicial performance criteria are integrity, legal knowledge, communication skills, judicial temperament, administrative performance, and service to the legal profession and the public.
Judge Baumann serves as the Chief Judge of Denver District Court, a position he has held since 2022, and currently presides over civil matters. Judge Baumann also presides over the Statewide Grand Jury proceedings, search warrants and arrest warrants. The Commission commends Judge Baumann for his alacrity in carrying out his administrative duties and his preparation as a jurist. Judge Baumann meets all aspects of the performance criteria on which he is evaluated. Judge Baumann’s written decisions are clear and thorough. His notable strengths, observed by the Commission, and described in survey responses, include his ability to efficiently balance both his civil docket and duties as Chief Judge, his excellent courtroom demeanor, and treating all parties appearing in front of him with fairness and respect. The Commission, based on its observation and analysis of survey responses, did not identify any evaluation category in which Judge Baumann displayed a notable weakness as to the performance criteria. Judge Baumann exceeded the Court’s productivity benchmark for civil courtrooms.
The Commission met with the Denver District Attorney and a representative of the Denver Office of the Office of Colorado State Public Defender regarding Judge Baumann’s performance. The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Baumann and observed him during court proceedings. It also reviewed opinions he authored, comments received from interested parties during the evaluation, case management data, and judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who interacted with him. The surveys reflected personal opinions regarding Judge Baumann in the categories of case management, application and knowledge of the law, communications, diligence, demeanor, and fairness. A total of 15 attorneys and 17 non-attorneys responded to the judicial performance surveys expressing their opinion of Judge Baumann. The overall information and data reviewed supports the Commission’s recommendation that Judge Baumann meets performance standards.
Judge Baumann was appointed to the Denver District Court in January 2018. He was appointed as the Chief Judge of Denver District Court in 2022. Prior to serving on the bench, Judge Baumann served as an attorney with the Denver Office of the Office of Colorado State Public Defender, a position he held since 2002, being named head of the Denver Office in 2010. Judge Baumann has served the Denver community through his volunteer work with Project Angel Heart. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and his law degree from Tulane University.
2020 retention · District Court · 2nd Judicial District
54 percentile · rank 27 of 59
composite 0100
55 percentile · rank 45 of 100
composite 0100
25 18th percentile among peers · 28th percentile statewide
1488
Composite index 51.69 among peers (53.17 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.50 of 4 · 56.78 percentile
2.203.90
3.50 of 4 · 47.46 percentile
2.423.88
87.00% 50.85 percentile
39.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 87.00%
Non-attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 92.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.50median 3.60 | 3.60 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.50median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Communications | 3.50median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Diligence | 3.30median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Demeanor | 3.70median 3.60 | 3.60 |
Commission: meets standards (10–0)
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance, on a vote of 10-0, unanimously finds that Judge Christopher J. Baumann MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
The Commission reviewed the results of surveys submitted by attorneys, including written verbatim comments, interviews of the Chief Judge of the Denver District Court, the Denver District Attorney, and the head of the public defender’s office in Denver County. The Commission also interviewed Judge Baumann, reviewed his written self-evaluation and opinions he authored. Some members of the Commission also observed Judge Baumann in court and listened to recordings of proceedings in his courtroom.
In the survey results from attorneys, compared to other district judges standing for retention, Judge Baumann scored slightly higher than average in the categories of application and knowledge of law and demeanor, slightly below average on diligence, and average in the category of communications. Of 25 attorneys who answered surveys, 87% indicated Judge Baumann meets performance standards, 4% indicated he did not meet performance standards, and 9% had no opinion. There were no surveys returned for Judge Baumann from non-attorneys.
The Governor appointed Judge Baumann to the District Court in November 2017. Before taking the bench, Judge Baumann was a Deputy State Public Defender where he specialized in death penalty litigation, he also previously served as an Assistant Attorney General and before that he was in private practice in Denver. Judge Baumann earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado and his law degree from Tulane. Judge Baumann volunteers for Project Angel Heart, delivering meals to homebound patients who struggle from life-threatening illnesses.