Karen L. Brody

Commission: meets standards (9–0)

Second Judicial District - District Court Judge

The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance agrees by a vote of 9-0, with one Commissioner absent from voting, that Judge Karen L. Brody 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 Brody is presently the presiding judge over the domestic relations division and previously oversaw a criminal docket. Judge Brody meets all aspects of the performance criteria and writes in a clear, concise, and well-reasoned manner. Her demeanor is generally described in survey results as courteous, polite, and respectful. The management of her courtroom is described as highly efficient and professional. Commission members observed these qualities during their evaluation and interview. For the cases open on Judge Brody’s docket as of April 2022, Judge Brody met the c ourt’s benchmarks for completing 100% of civil and domestic relations cases in 18 months. The Commission did not identify any evaluation category in which Judge Brody displayed a notable weakness. The Commission appreciates Judge Brody’s leadership efforts within the Domestic Relations Division.

The Commission met with the Chief Judge of Denver District Court regarding Judge Brody’s performance, as well as with members of the District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office and Probation Department. The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Brody and observed her during court proceedings. It also reviewed opinions she authored, comments received from interested parties during the evaluation, recordings from her courtroom, case management data, and judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys that interacted with her. The surveys reflected personal opinions on Judge Brody’s Case Management, Application and Knowledge of the Law, Communications, Diligence, Demeanor, and Fairness. Of the 53 attorneys and 70 non-attorneys who completed the survey and reported they had sufficient knowledge of Judge Brody’s performance to evaluate her, 90% of the attorneys and 78% of the non-attorneys believe that Judge Brody met performance standards. Judge Brody’s combined (attorney and non-attorney) survey scores are at or above average for district court judges in the categories of Case Management, Application and Knowledge of the Law, Communications, Diligence, Demeanor, and Fairness. Judge Brody received a rating at the statewide average among district court judges from the 14 appellate judges who evaluated her performance. Judge Brody received nearly all positive comments submitted by attorneys and non-attorneys who interacted with her. While the Commission used these survey results in its evaluation, this evaluation tool was used in conjunction with several others to evaluate Judge Brody’s performance. All data reviewed by the Commission supports the recommendation that Judge Brody be retained.

Governor Hickenlooper appointed Judge Brody in 2014. She earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Denver. Prior to her appointment, she worked in private practice. Before attending law school at the University of Denver, Judge Brody received a master’s degree in Economics from Tufts University and worked for a Fortune 500 company for nine years.

State evaluation page · 2022 survey report (PDF)

Commission: meets standards (10–0)

The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance on a vote of 10 to 0 unanimously recommends that Judge Karen L. Brody BE RETAINED.

Governor John Hickenlooper appointed Judge Brody to the Denver District Court in March 2014. Before her appointment, Judge Brody was a member and owner at Lowe, Fell & Skogg, LLC, where she practiced general commercial litigation with a subspecialty in the areas of real estate and eminent domain law. Before that, she was a litigation associate at Otten, Johnson, Robinson, Neff & Ragonetti, P.C. Judge Brody earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Denver in 1982, her Master of Arts from Tufts University in 1983, and her law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 1996. Judge Brody volunteers as a member of the Board of Trustees of Historic Denver and discusses the role of a judge with college students.

The Commission reviewed the results of surveys of attorneys, appellate judges, and non- attorneys who were familiar with Judge Brody’s work, interviewed the Judge, reviewed her written self-evaluation, and reviewed three of her written opinions. In addition, selected members of the Commission observed Judge Brody in court. Of the attorneys completing the survey, 93% recommended to retain and 6% recommended not to retain. (These percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.) Of non-attorneys completing surveys 96% recommended to retain and 4% not to retain.

Judge Brody’s ratings by both attorneys and non-attorneys are higher than the average of all other district court judges standing for retention in all areas surveyed. These included retention, case management, application and knowledge of law, communications, diligence, demeanor, and fairness. Survey respondents described Judge Brody as thoughtful, intelligent, reasoned, and thorough. And courtroom observation by commissioners confirmed these attributes. Given her strengths, the Commission is confident in recommending the voters retain Judge Brody.

State evaluation page · 2016 survey report (PDF)