Eric Bentley

Commission: meets standards (7–0)

The Fourth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance voted 7-0 with three absent that Judge Eric Bentley MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

Over this past six-year term, Judge Bentley’s docket has consisted of roughly 45% criminal, 45% civil, and 5% domestic relations cases. He has presided over several high-profile cases that have received substantial media attention and where family and friends of the litigants have attended to observe the proceedings. He is generally regarded as thoughtful, deliberative, and exacting. His written orders are well-researched and issued in a timely fashion. He is not afraid to tackle hard issues if they are properly presented for decision. He is an excellent communicator and has an even, measured judicial temperament. While he received some criticism from a few criminal attorneys that he does not manage his criminal docket well, those comments were decidedly the minority view. When necessary, Judge Bentley works late and over the weekend to ensure he is meeting his own high standards of excellence and providing attorneys and litigants with thoughtful, carefully researched orders. He is widely recognized as being extremely intelligent.

The Commission evaluated Judge Bentley’s performance by observing him in court, reading orders he issued, reviewing surveys submitted by attorneys and non-attorneys who had appeared in his courtroom, reviewing his self-evaluation, and conducting an in-person interview. During that interview, the Commission confirmed that he had filed all his financial disclosures and that he had no disciplinary issues. The Commission also discussed with Judge Bentley his appellate record, which revealed only three reversals in 29 cases. Appellate judges rated Judge Bentley 3.8 on a scale of 4.0 and one appellate judge comment stated he is an excellent judge in all respects. In addition, the Commission heard comments on Judge Bentley’s performance from the District Attorney, Public Defender, and Chief Judge of the Fourth Judicial District. On the 2024 Judicial Performance Survey, survey invites were sent to 869 attorneys and non-attorneys, but only 24 of them responded. That response rate of 2.8% makes the surveys statistically invalid. Of the responders, the overwhelming majority believed Judge Bentley met performance standards. He received a combined score of 3.5 out of 4.0.

Judge Bentley was appointed to the District Court in October 2016. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his law degree from Yale Law School. After clerking for two federal judges, he worked as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. He moved to Colorado in 2001 and practiced civil litigation in private practice in Colorado Springs for fifteen years before his appointment to the bench.

State evaluation page · 2024 survey report (PDF)

Commission: meets standards (5–0)

The Fourth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously (5-0) agrees that El Paso County District Judge Eric Bentley MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

Judge Bentley was appointed to the El Paso County District Court in October, 2016. Judge Bentley received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987. After graduating, Judge Bentley worked as a journalist. Judge Bentley graduated from Yale Law School in 1993. After law school Judge Bentley served as a law clerk for a Federal District Court judge and for a Federal Circuit Court Judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. After clerking, Judge Bentley worked as a criminal prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice in both Philadelphia and Washington D.C. He practiced civil/corporate law in Colorado Springs for fifteen years before his appointment to the District Court. The Commission reviewed Judge Bentley’s self-evaluation, a number of his written decisions, and evaluations provided by both attorneys and non-attorneys. The Commission found the evaluations of Judge Bentley by both attorneys and non-attorneys to be strong. Specifically, attorneys noted Judge Bentley is above average in the areas of case management, application and knowledge of the law, communication, demeanor and diligence. Non-attorney scores were slightly lower. Among the survey questions was “based on your responses to the previous questions related to the performance evaluation criteria do you think Judge Bentley meets judicial performance standards?” Of the attorneys responding to the survey 86% answered yes, meets performance standards 11% answered no, does not meet performance standards and 4% had no opinion. Of non-attorneys responding to the survey, 65% answered yes, meets performance standards and 35% answered no, does not meet performance standards. However, the Commission notes that because Judge Bentley had been on the bench for only a little over one year when the evaluations were done, the sample size of respondents was small. Specifically, only 25 non-attorneys and 41 attorneys completed evaluations of Judge Bentley.

The Commission was impressed by the comments and self-reflection of Judge Bentley at his interview, and in his self-evaluation. The Commission believes that Judge Bentley presently meets performance standards, and as he gains more experience he will become an exceptional jurist on the El Paso County District Court.

State evaluation page · 2018 survey report (PDF)