Elizabeth House Moulton Brodsky

Commission: meets standards (10–0)

The Twentieth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance, by a vote of 10-0, finds that Judge Elizabeth House Moulton Brodsky MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

Judge Brodsky has presided over criminal, misdemeanor, traffic, civil, and small claims matters in the county court since 2015. She brings a great deal of discipline, preparation, compassion, and patience to the judicial role. Judge Brodsky’s Spanish-language skills, her attentiveness to the stressful experience of appearing in court for litigants, her thoroughness, her passion for service, and her mentorship roles are notable. She also demonstrates a command of the substantive knowledge required to effectively serve as a judge, as well as a calm and steady control over her docket and courtroom proceedings.

The Judicial Performance Commission evaluates judges on six standards: legal knowledge, communication, administrative performance, integrity, judicial temperament, and service to the legal profession. To evaluate Judge Brodsky’s performance the Commission observed her in court, reviewed opinions she authored, considered her self-evaluation, held a public meeting to invite comments, reviewed responses to a survey distributed to all persons who have appeared in her court, and reviewed comments from her colleagues on the bench. The Commission also conducted personal interviews with Judge Brodsky, the current and former Chief Judge, the District Attorney, and a representative of the Boulder defense bar.

Judge Brodsky was appointed to the Boulder County Court in 2015 and sat on the Boulder District Court bench as a magistrate from 2011 to 2015. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Brodsky served as the managing attorney of Boulder County Legal Services, she represented parents in dependency and neglect matters, and she served as a Guardian ad Litem for abused and neglected children. Judge Brodsky is the past co-chair of the Availability of Legal Services Committee, and she is the county court bench liaison for the Boulder County Bar Association Professionalism Committee. Judge Brodsky is the director of the Boulder County Court internship/externship program and teaches the judicial externship seminar class at University of Colorado Law School.

State evaluation page · 2026 survey report (PDF)

Commission: meets standards (10–0)

The 20 th Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agrees by a vote of 10-0 that Judge Elizabeth House Moulton Brodsky MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. The Colorado statutory judicial performance standards are integrity, legal knowledge, communication skills, judicial temperament, administrative performance, and service to the legal profession and the public.

Judge Brodsky presides over civil, criminal, misdemeanor, small claims, and traffic matters in Boulder County, Colorado. Judge Brodsky is described as a “model judge” who treats all court participants with kindness, dignity, respect, and empathy. Judge Brodsky excels at efficiently managing a robust docket while making sure each voice is heard and connecting with all who appear before her. As the County Court Presiding Judge at the outset of the pandemic, Judge Brodsky led the development of new policies and procedures to promote access to justice to all litigants and criminal defendants during challenging times. She continues to look for “new ways to do better.” Judge Brodsky is very knowledgeable on the law and prepares thoroughly and thoughtfully for the cases over which she presides. Her written rulings are clear, well-reasoned and easily accessible.

The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Brodsky, reviewed opinions she wrote, observed her performance in court, and reviewed judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who participated in Judge Brodsky’s court proceedings. The Commission also received comments on Judge Brodsky’s performance from the district attorney and representatives of the defense bar and hosted a public hearing, at which citizens provided additional input regarding her performance as a judge.

In response to a survey question about whether Judge Brodsky “meets judicial performance standards,” 100 percent of the attorneys answered yes. Of the non-attorneys responding to the survey, 88 percent answered yes; 6 percent had no opinion and 6 percent answered no.

Judge Brodsky was appointed to the County Court in 2015. She previously served as a magistrate on the Boulder District Court bench from 2011 to 2015. She received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Colorado. Before joining the bench, Judge Brodsky was the managing attorney for Boulder County Legal Services. Before that she served as a court-appointed legal representative for abused and neglected children. Judge Brodsky continues to engage in many volunteer activities to promote social justice including serving on professional committees, providing educational and training materials and programs for the legal community and general public. She also volunteers her time and energy to nonprofit organizations outside of the legal community, such as the Nederland Food Pantry.

State evaluation page · 2022 survey report (PDF)

Commission: meets standards (10–0)

The 20th Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously (10-0) finds that Judge Elizabeth House Moulton Brodsky MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

Judge Brodsky was appointed to the Boulder County Court bench in October 2015. She previously served as a Domestic Relations Magistrate, beginning in January 2011. Judge Brodsky worked at Colorado Legal Services, first as an attorney in the Family and Children’s Unit and then as the managing attorney of Boulder County Legal Services. After leaving Boulder County Legal Services, Judge Brodsky established a private practice working primarily with respondent parents and children in Dependency and Neglect matters. Judge Brodsky is a 1997 graduate of the University of Colorado Law School and a 1994 graduate of the University of Colorado.

The Commission evaluated Judge Brodsky based on the criteria set forth in state law (C.R.S. 13-5.5-107): integrity, legal knowledge, communication skills, judicial temperament, administrative performance, and service to the legal profession and the public. Each Commissioner observed Judge Brodsky in her courtroom. Each Commissioner also reviewed Judge Brodsky’s self-evaluation, samples of her rulings and orders, a report on her caseload, and anonymous results of qualitative surveys sent to people who appeared in her courtroom during 2017. The Commission met with the Chief Judge, the District Attorney, and the Chair of the Boulder Chapter of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar. The Commission held a public hearing on May 15, 2018, to gather input from the community. The Commission also interviewed Judge Brodsky. Due to concerns about the limited number of survey responses, Commissioners gave less weight to the survey results. Of the 28 attorneys who responded to the survey, 89% said that Judge Brodsky meets performance standards. Of the 72 non-attorneys who responded to the survey, 96% said that Judge Brodsky meets performance standards. The Commission found that court observations, (totaling 50 hours for all Commissioners), meeting with various stakeholders, and interviewing Judge Brodsky provided the best insights.

Judge Brodsky presided over a variety of cases in this term including: 30% civil, 10% criminal, 20% traffic, 30% misdemeanor, and 10% small claims matters. Survey respondents of Judge Brodsky’s overall performance highlighted her efficient, thorough, and diligent courtroom conduct. Judge Brodsky received high marks in case management, communications and demeanor. Judge Brodsky is described as being fair and unbiased, treating all participants in the courtroom with respect, to the point of being compassionate and empathetic. The Commission agreed that Judge Brodsky demonstrated knowledgeable, patient, fair, and just conduct during courtroom observations and her personal interview. Judge Brodsky engages in a significant amount of community service and views it as important to her role as a judge. She volunteers in programs that educate the public and students at all grade levels, mentors law students and feeds people through a local food pantry. Based on the Commission’s overall evaluation, Judge Brodsky has demonstrated that she meets or exceeds performance standards in all categories.

State evaluation page · 2018 survey report (PDF)