2022 retention · District Court · 2nd Judicial District
0 percentile · rank 67 of 67
composite 0100
1 percentile · rank 133 of 134
composite 0100
30 11th percentile among peers · 19th percentile statewide
15132
Composite index 2.49 among peers (1.74 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
2.70 of 4 · 2.99 percentile
2.603.80
2.67 of 4 · 2.24 percentile
2.583.82
44.00% 2.24 percentile
43.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 44.00%
Non-attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 56.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 2.80median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 2.30median 3.30 | 3.30 | |
| Communications | 3.10median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Diligence | 2.70median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Demeanor | 2.60median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Fairness | 2.50median 3.40 | 3.40 |
Commission: meets standards (9–0)
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agrees by a vote of 9-0, with one Commissioner absent from voting, that Judge Laurie A. Clark 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 Clark presides a juvenile docket in Denver Juvenile Court. Judge Clark meets all aspects of the performance criteria and writes in a clear, concise, and well-reasoned manner. She is generally described as well-prepared, fair, kind, and patient in the courtroom. Commission members observed these qualities during their evaluation and interview. For the cases open on Judge Clark’s docket as of April 2022, Judge Clark met the Court’s benchmarks for completing 90% of juvenile adoption and permanency plan cases in 12 months, but did not meet the benchmarks for completing 95% of juvenile delinquency and dependency and neglect cases within required timeframes. The Commission did not identify any evaluation category in which Judge Clark displayed a notable weakness. The Commission recognizes Judge Clark’s commitment to applying the law in the context of the unique nature of the juvenile court, but encourages Judge Clark to explore additional avenues of communication to educate victims on the mandates of juvenile court.
The Commission met with the Presiding Judge of Denver Juvenile Court to discuss Judge Clark’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 Clark 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 Clark’s Case Management, Application and Knowledge of the Law, Communications, Diligence, Demeanor, and Fairness. Of the 20 attorneys and 10 non-attorneys who completed the survey and reported they had sufficient knowledge of Judge Clark’s performance to evaluate her, 44% of the attorneys and 56% of the non-attorneys believe that Judge Clark met performance standards. Judge Clark’s survey scores among both attorneys and non-attorneys are below the average for district court judges in the all categories. Judge Clark received scores slightly below the statewide average for all district court judges from the 13 appellate judges who evaluated her performance. While the Commission used these survey results in its evaluation, this evaluation tool was used in conjunction with several others to evaluate her performance. All data reviewed by the Commission supports that Judge Clark be retained.
Governor Hickenlooper appointed Judge Clark in November 2013. Judge Clark earned her undergraduate degree from Metropolitan State University and law degree from University of Denver. Before her appointment, she served as an Adams County magistrate judge. She was also in private practice, serving as a guardian ad litem, child legal representative, parenting coordinator/decision maker, and child and family investigator. Judge Clark is an adjunct professor at the University of Denver.
2016 retention · District Court · 2nd Judicial District
9 percentile · rank 56 of 61
composite 0100
8 percentile · rank 99 of 108
composite 0100
26 4th percentile among peers · 9th percentile statewide
17164
Composite index 11.75 among peers (12.04 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
2.85 of 4 · 2.46 percentile
2.793.84
2.86 of 4 · 2.46 percentile
2.813.84
74.00% 30.33 percentile
40.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Overall grade
- 2.89
- Say “meets standards”
- 74.00%
Non-attorneys
- Overall grade
- 2.83
- Say “meets standards”
- 53.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 2.97median 3.38 | 3.38 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 2.45median 3.41 | 3.41 | |
| Communications | 3.15median 3.53 | 3.53 | |
| Diligence | 3.06median 3.48 | 3.48 | |
| Demeanor | 2.83median 3.47 | 3.47 | |
| Fairness | 2.68median 3.68 | 3.68 |
Commission: meets standards (10–0)
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance, on a vote of 10-0, unanimously recommends that Judge Laurie A. Clark BE RETAINED.
Governor John Hickenlooper appointed Judge Clark to the Denver Juvenile Court in November 2013. Before her appointment, Judge Clark served for two years as a magistrate judge in Colorado’s Seventeenth Judicial District in Adams County. Previously, as an attorney in private practice, she specialized in juvenile and domestic law for 7 years, representing clients, and serving as a guardian ad litem, child legal representative, parenting coordinator/decision maker, and child and family investigator. Judge Clark helped develop the curriculum for and taught a 40-hour child and family investigator training. Judge Clark teaches courses in juvenile, family, and advanced family law as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, where she earned her law degree in 2004. She holds an undergraduate college degree from Metropolitan State University. Judge Clark regularly volunteers to judge high school, college, and law school mock trial competitions and presents at continuing legal education seminars.
The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Clark, reviewed opinions she authored, observed her in court, and reviewed comments received from interested parties during the evaluation, reviewed her self-evaluation, and survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who had experience with Judge Clark. Of those few attorneys completing the survey, 74% recommended retaining and 24% not to retain. Of non-attorneys completing the survey, 53% recommended to retain, 30% not to retain, and 18% made no recommendation regarding retention. (These percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.) Unfortunately, as with other Denver Juvenile Court judges, low participation in the surveys is a problem; only 9 attorneys and 17 non-attorneys responded.
Judge Clark presides over a division of the Denver Juvenile Court. The limited survey results reflect overall confidence from appellate judges and attorneys. Non-attorneys scored Judge Clark a bit lower than the average district court judge. The Commission is not alarmed with the lower scores from non-attorneys since Denver stands alone with having an independent juvenile court and the non-attorney assessments do not reflect any jurors as they do with other district court judges. During her interview, Judge Clark acknowledged the survey results and indicated several positive steps she has taken to address any perceived deficiencies. And commissioners noted that during courtroom observations that Judge Clark appears to have developed a system to ensure all parties are heard in an efficient and fair manner. Given her strengths, the Commission is confident in recommending the voters retain Judge Clark.