2024 retention · District Court · 2nd Judicial District
16 percentile · rank 44 of 52
composite 0100
10 percentile · rank 96 of 107
composite 0100
21 13th percentile among peers · 21st percentile statewide
14112
Composite index 17.95 among peers (12.93 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.00 of 4 · 25.96 percentile
2.303.80
2.95 of 4 · 25.00 percentile
2.273.80
36.00% 2.88 percentile
29.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 36.00%
Non-attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 75.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.10median 3.30 | 3.30 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 2.70median 3.10 | 3.10 | |
| Communications | 3.20median 3.30 | 3.30 | |
| Diligence | 2.80median 3.20 | 3.20 | |
| Demeanor | 3.20median 3.20 | 3.20 | |
| Fairness | 2.70median 3.10 | 3.10 |
Commission: meets standards (9–0)
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agrees by a vote of 9–0, with one Commissioner vacancy, that Judge Adam J. Espinosa MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. The Colorado statutory judicial performance criteria are integrity, legal knowledge, communication skills, judicial temperament, administrative performance, and service to the legal profession and the public.
Judge Espinosa currently presides over criminal matters in the Denver District Court. Judge Espinosa meets all aspects of the performance criteria on which he is evaluated. Judge Espinosa’s written decisions are clear, thorough, and well-reasoned. His notable strengths, observed by the Commission and described in survey responses, include having a respectful and calm demeanor, and his service to numerous court committees and educational efforts in the community. The Commission, based on its observation and analysis of survey responses, did not identify any evaluation category in which Judge Espinosa displayed a notable weakness as to the performance criteria. Judge Espinosa met the Court’s productivity benchmark for criminal courtrooms, completing 90% of cases within 12 months. The Commission met with the Chief Judge of Denver District Court to discuss challenges facing the court system and also met with the Denver District Attorney and a representative of the Denver Trial Office of the Colorado State Public Defender regarding Judge Espinosa’s performance.
The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Espinosa and observed him during court proceedings. It also reviewed opinions he authored, comments received from interested parties during the evaluation, recordings from his courtroom, case management data, and judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who interacted with him. The surveys reflected personal opinions regarding Judge Espinosa in the categories of case management, application and knowledge of the law, communications, diligence, demeanor, and fairness. A total of 11 attorneys and 10 non-attorneys responded to the judicial performance surveys expressing their opinion of Judge Espinosa. The overall information and data reviewed supports the Commission’s recommendation that Judge Espinosa be retained.
Judge Espinosa was appointed to the Denver District Court in 2021. Previously, he served as a Denver County Court Judge, presiding over Civil, Municipal Criminal, and State Criminal Divisions. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Espinosa served as a senior trial attorney for the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel and as a deputy district attorney in several Colorado counties. Judge Espinosa earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas and his law degree from Washburn University. Judge Espinosa has served in leadership positions on numerous local, state, and national boards including the Denver Crime Prevention and Control Commission, the Colorado Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission, the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, and the Denver Language School.
2018 retention · County Court · Denver County
41 percentile · rank 42 of 71
composite 0100
39 percentile · rank 78 of 128
composite 0100
90 78th percentile among peers · 77th percentile statewide
4130
Composite index 44.37 among peers (42.19 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.49 of 4 · 44.37 percentile
2.593.90
3.45 of 4 · 40.14 percentile
2.593.90
82.00% 48.59 percentile
0.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Overall grade
- 3.35
- Say “meets standards”
- 82.00%
Non-attorneys
- Overall grade
- 3.54
- Say “meets standards”
- 88.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.48median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.37median 3.38 | 3.38 | |
| Communications | 3.58median 3.58 | 3.58 | |
| Diligence | 3.45median 3.42 | 3.42 | |
| Demeanor | 3.38median 3.49 | 3.49 | |
| Fairness | 3.43median 3.60 | 3.60 |
Commission: meets standards (10–0)
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously (10-0) agrees that Judge Adam J. Espinosa MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Judge Adam J. Espinosa was appointed to the Denver County Court on January 13, 2015, and began presiding over a civil docket the next day. Judge Espinosa received an undergraduate degree at the University of Kansas and his law degree from Washburn University School of Law. Before taking the bench, he worked in the trial division of the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel (OARC), where he investigated, settled, and tried cases involving attorney misconduct before the Presiding Disciplinary Judge and the Colorado Supreme Court. He spent nearly five years with OARC and became familiar with many different areas of the law in that job.
The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Espinosa, reviewed opinions he authored and his self-evaluation. Selected members of the Commission observed Judge Espinosa in court. The Commission also reviewed survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who were familiar with Judge Espinosa’s work. Among the survey questions was “based on your responses to the previous questions related to the performance evaluation criteria, do you think Judge Espinosa meets judicial performance standards?” Of the 22 attorneys responding to the survey, 82% answered yes, meets performance standards, 9% answered no, does not meet performance standards and 9% expressed no opinion. Of the 68 non-attorneys responding to the survey, 88% answered yes, meets performance standards, 7% answered no, does not meet performance standards and 4% expressed no opinion (percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding).
Judge Espinosa is currently assigned to the state criminal division, but during this term he also presided in the civil division and the municipal criminal division. As a first term judge, the Commission was impressed with Judge Espinosa’s performance. Survey respondents describe him as professional and knowledgeable, traits the Commission observed as well. The Commission also was impressed with Judge Espinosa’s efforts to improve the legal system by his frequent teaching, speaking and writing. Judge Espinosa was nominated by the Denver Bar Association as Judicial Officer of the Year in 2017. Based on these findings, the Commission unanimously agreed that Judge Espinosa meets judicial performance standards.