2022 retention · Court of Appeals · Statewide
4th of 8 (too few for a percentile)
composite 0100
42 percentile · rank 77 of 134
composite 0100
63 2nd most of 8 among peers · 79th percentile statewide
4275
Composite index 54.17 among peers (42.54 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.50 of 4
3.403.60
3.40 of 4
3.103.47
85.00%
57.00%88.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 85.00%
Non-attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 90.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | 3.40median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Writing | 3.20median 3.20 | 3.20 | |
| Inter-Judge Evaluation | 3.60median 3.70 | 3.70 |
Commission: meets standards (11–0)
The State Commission on Judicial Performance finds that Judge Jaclyn Casey Brown MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, by a vote of 11 – 0. 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 Brown has been on the Colorado Court of Appeals since June, 2019 and this is her first retention as a Court of Appeals judge. The Commission finds that her opinions are timely, clear and well-reasoned. At oral arguments, she is well-prepared, succinct in her questions and respectful. The Commission commends Judge Brown for her collegiality and collaboration among her colleagues. The Commission applauds her work as co-chair of the court’s Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity & Anti-Racism Committee, her focus on judicial training and well-being, and her active participation in several laudable projects in the bar associations. The Commission also recognizes her clear enthusiasm for her work on the bench. One survey question asked whether Judge Brown met judicial performance standards. 85% of attorneys and 90% of judges responded “yes” to that question. She received an overall score of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. The Commission finds that Judge Brown is a valuable addition to the Court of Appeals.
To conduct our evaluation, the Commission interviewed Judge Brown, reviewed her self-evaluation, observed oral arguments, and considered survey responses from attorneys and judges. The Commission is concerned about Judge Brown overextending herself with too many professional commitments and encourages her to employ strategies to trim down such commitments. Judge Brown recognized the need to do this in her self-evaluation and interview. Judge Brown also recognized the need to improve her administrative skills especially in the areas of hiring, delegation and managing employees. The Commission encourages Judge Brown to learn from fellow judges and other professional resources to improve these skills. Judge Brown also expressed her plan to continue increasing her knowledge of criminal law.
Judge Brown joined the Colorado Court of Appeals in 2019. From 2016 to 2019, she served as a District Court Judge in the 17 th Judicial District (Adams and Broomfield Counties) where she presided over domestic relations and civil matters. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado, graduating Summa Cum Laude. She earned her law degree from Washington University School of Law, graduating in the top 10% of her class. Judge Brown was a partner in the Denver office of Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP, where she litigated complex civil matters in several states. Judge Brown is a member of the National Association of Women Judges and the Colorado Women’s, Colorado LGBT, Denver, Adams, Broomfield, Heart of the Rockies, and Fremont Custer Bar Associations. She is a graduate of the Colorado Bar Association Leadership Training Program and a Fellow of the Colorado Bar Foundation. Judge Brown has been involved in several community organizations, including the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and Curious Theatre Company.
2018 retention · District Court · 17th Judicial District
97 percentile · rank 2 of 52
composite 0100
96 percentile · rank 5 of 128
composite 0100
50 19th percentile among peers · 26th percentile statewide
29158
Composite index 94.23 among peers (93.49 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.80 of 4 · 96.15 percentile
2.963.81
3.83 of 4 · 97.12 percentile
2.913.86
97.00% 89.42 percentile
44.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Overall grade
- 3.77
- Say “meets standards”
- 97.00%
Non-attorneys
- Overall grade
- 3.88
- Say “meets standards”
- 95.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.74median 3.49 | 3.49 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.78median 3.43 | 3.43 | |
| Communications | 3.88median 3.58 | 3.58 | |
| Diligence | 3.80median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Demeanor | 3.83median 3.51 | 3.51 | |
| Fairness | 3.96median 3.59 | 3.59 |
Commission: meets standards (10–0)
The Seventeenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously (10-0) finds that Judge Jaclyn Brown MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Judge Brown, was appointed in 2016 to be a district court judge in the 17th Judicial District. She previously worked on commercial and complex civil litigation at the Denver office of Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP. Her areas of practice included real estate, construction, eminent domain, contractual disputes and insurance issues. Among other distinctions, she was recognized as a Denver Business Journal “Forty under 40” honoree and earned the title of the Denver Bar Association’s Young Lawyer of the Year (2013). The same year, as part of a team of pro-bono lawyers, she was named Lawyer of the Year by Law Week Colorado. Judge Brown is a graduate of the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and did her undergraduate work at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Judge Brown thinks of herself as dedicated, hard-working, and fully invested in her work. “I care deeply about every case that comes before me and give each matter the time and attention it deserves.”
The Commission based its “meets judicial performance standards” finding on a review of several of Judge Brown's legal opinions, a personal interview, multiple in-court observations, her self-evaluation, and survey response from attorneys and non-attorneys who had experience with Judge Brown. Among the survey questions was “based on your response to the previous question related to the performance evaluation criteria, do you think Judge Brown meets judicial performance standards?” Of the attorneys responding to the survey, 97% answered yes, meets performance standards and 3% answered no, does not meet performance standards. Of the non-attorneys responding to the survey, 95% answered yes, meets performance standards and 5% answered no, does not meet performance standards. Judge Brown received a 100% “meets performance standards” rating from jurors.
Judge Brown’s current docket is one-half domestic relations matters and one-half civil cases. Her survey results from attorneys on case management, application of the law, communications, diligence and demeanor ranged from 3.73 to 3.83 on a 4-point scale. A typical case-management comment from the survey states “Judge Brown has a practical, flexible and accommodating approach to scheduling, managing, and presiding over hearings. “She rules on procedural and substantive matters with all reasonable speed.” Judge Brown consistently received high scores on her legal knowledge, being able to identify and analyze relevant facts, basing her decisions on evidence and arguments, being fair and impartial to both sides of the case, and consistently applying laws and rules. Her ratings in these areas ranged from 3.70 to 3.74. She consistently received a rating of 3.7 or higher on all aspects of demeanor: Giving proceedings a sense of dignity; treating participants with respect; and conducting her courtroom in a neutral manner. She received a 3.73 average for her diligence, defined as using good judgment in relevant aspects of law and rules, doing homework when necessary, being prepared, and being willing to handle complicated and time-consuming cases.