2026 retention · County Court · Denver County
The state did not publish a 2026 survey report: too few responses. This evaluation is not ranked.
Commission: meets standards (5–0)
The Denver County Court Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agrees by a vote of 5-0 that Judge Olympia Z. Fay 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 Fay is a model of efficiency and has demonstrated the ability to clear inundated dockets and deliver justice in a timely manner. She balances warmth and kindness with a formality and professionalism that establishes decorum in the courtroom. She manages her docket in a way that ensures that all parties, including pro se litigants, have equal access to the court. She shows respect for everyone in the courtroom, including litigants, attorneys, witnesses, jurors and the general public. She has an expert knowledge of the law and is organized and well prepared. When asked, she provides feedback to guide new attorneys in their practice. A passionate believer in equal access to the courtroom, she has championed that cause in a way that elevates the community and the court. As a senior member of the bench, she encourages collegiality and a supportive atmosphere among judges, which has led to positive morale, collaboration and consistency throughout the court. She is responsive, approachable and well respected as a leader and colleague.
In evaluating Judge Fay, the commission did extensive live, livestream and recorded courtroom observations, conducted a personal interview with the judicial officer, and reviewed case management data and the judicial officer self-evaluation, with supporting documents when submitted, to inform its decision for meets/does not meet performance standards.
Judge Fay was appointed to the Denver County Court in January 2015. She serves on Court committees for human resources/employee engagement and community service and engagement. Prior to her appointment, she served as a Denver assistant city attorney for two years and as a deputy district attorney in Colorado’s 20th Judicial District. She began her legal career in private practice as a civil litigator, specializing in complex commercial litigation, securities litigation and intellectual property cases. She is an active member of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, the Sam Cary Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association and the Denver Bar Association and has earned awards for judicial excellence from the Colorado Judicial Institute and the Colorado Women’s Bar Association. She earned her undergraduate degree from Lenoir-Rhyne University and her law degree from the University of Denver.
2022 retention · County Court · Denver County
21 percentile · rank 47 of 59
composite 0100
36 percentile · rank 86 of 134
composite 0100
30 32nd percentile among peers · 19th percentile statewide
4108
Composite index 25.99 among peers (38.31 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.40 of 4 · 26.27 percentile
2.503.90
3.42 of 4 · 22.88 percentile
2.453.93
85.00% 28.81 percentile
50.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 85.00%
Non-attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 93.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.40median 3.60 | 3.60 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.20median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Communications | 3.60median 3.70 | 3.70 | |
| Diligence | 3.40median 3.60 | 3.60 | |
| Demeanor | 3.50median 3.60 | 3.60 | |
| Fairness | 3.40median 3.50 | 3.50 |
Commission: meets standards (8–0)
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance agrees by a vote of 8-0, with two Commissioners absent from voting, that Judge Olympia Z. Fay MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Judge Fay presides over a criminal docket in Denver County Court. Judge Fay meets all aspects of the performance criteria and writes in a clear, concise, and well-reasoned manner. Her demeanor is described as compassionate, fair and pleasant in the courtroom and her case management is described as excellent. The Commission did not identify any evaluation category in which Judge Fay displayed a notable weakness. Commission members observed these qualities during their evaluation and interview.
The Commission met with the Presiding Judge of Denver County Court to discuss her interactions with Judge Fay, as well as with members of the Public Defender’s Office and Probation Department to discuss their impressions of Judge Fay’s performance. The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Fay, observed her during court proceedings, reviewed decisions she authored, case management data, comments received from interested parties, and judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys with sufficient interaction with Judge Fay in the courtroom to meaningfully respond. The surveys reflected personal opinions on Judge Fay’s Case Management, Application and Knowledge of Law, Communications, Diligence, Demeanor, and Fairness. Of the 15 attorneys and 15 non-attorneys who completed the survey and reported they had sufficient knowledge of Judge Fay’s performance to evaluate her, 85% of the attorneys and 93% of the non-attorneys believe that she meets performance standards. Judge Fay’s combined (attorney and non-attorney) survey scores are slightly above or equal to the statewide average among county court judges in the areas of Case Management, Diligence, Demeanor, and Fairness and slightly below the statewide average for Application and Knowledge of Law. As a result of procedural irregularities in the distribution of these surveys, the response rates for the 2022 survey were not as robust as compared to prior evaluation cycles. While the Commission used these survey results in its evaluation, limited weight was given to these survey results and the results were used in conjunction with several other tools to evaluate her performance. All data reviewed by the Commission supports the recommendation that Judge Fay be retained.
Mayor Hancock appointed Judge Fay in September 2014. Judge Fay earned her undergraduate degree from Lenoir-Rhyne University and her law degree from the University of Denver. Prior to her appointment, she served as a Denver Assistant City Attorney. Judge Fay began her legal career as a civil litigator in the private sector, then served as a Deputy District Attorney for the 20th Judicial District. She is a member of the Colorado Women’s and Sam Cary Bar Associations, the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations, and the American and Hispanic Bar Associations. Judge Fay serves as Chair of the Denver County Court Resource Committee and on the Magistrate Judge and Budget Committees for the Court. Judge Fay received the 2019 Judicial Excellence Award from the Colorado Judicial Institute.
2018 retention · County Court · Denver County
85 percentile · rank 11 of 71
composite 0100
85 percentile · rank 19 of 128
composite 0100
101 89th percentile among peers · 89th percentile statewide
4130
Composite index 83.33 among peers (82.68 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.74 of 4 · 89.44 percentile
2.593.90
3.74 of 4 · 92.25 percentile
2.593.90
90.00% 68.31 percentile
0.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Overall grade
- 3.57
- Say “meets standards”
- 90.00%
Non-attorneys
- Overall grade
- 3.90
- Say “meets standards”
- 98.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.62median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.64median 3.38 | 3.38 | |
| Communications | 3.84median 3.58 | 3.58 | |
| Diligence | 3.63median 3.42 | 3.42 | |
| Demeanor | 3.78median 3.49 | 3.49 | |
| Fairness | 3.94median 3.60 | 3.60 |
Commission: meets standards (10–0)
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously (10-0) agrees that Judge Olympia Z. Fay MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Judge Fay was appointed to the Denver County Court on January 13, 2015. Judge Fay received her Bachelor of Arts in History from Lenoir-Rhyne University in 1999 and earned her law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2007. Prior to her appointment, Judge Fay served as a Denver assistant city attorney in the civil litigation section. Before joining the City Attorney’s office, she served as a deputy district attorney in the 20th Judicial District and worked as a private attorney at Holme, Roberts, & Owen and Davis, Graham, & Stubbs. Judge Fay is a faculty member and advisor with the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and is active is the Sam Cary Bar Association, the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the Colorado LGBT Association. Judge Fay is also the Chair of the Denver County Court Resource Committee, where she was tasked with reorganization of the court to better serve Denver. She also volunteers for various high school and college legal study competitions.
For this evaluation period, the Commission on Judicial Performance interviewed Judge Fay, reviewed three written opinions she authored, and observed her in court. Additionally, commissioners reviewed surveys submitted by attorneys, jurors, and parties who appeared before Judge Fay. Among other questions, the survey asked, “based on your responses to the previous questions related to the performance evaluation criteria, do you think Judge Fay meets judicial performance standards?” Of attorneys responding to the survey, 90% answered that Judge Fay meets the performance standards, 4% answered that she does not meet the performance standards, and 6% had no opinion of whether she meets or does not meet the performance standards. Of non-attorneys responding to the survey, 98% answered that Judge Fay meets the performance standards, 0% answered that she does not meet the performance standards, and 2% had no opinion of whether she meets or does not meet the performance standards. A total of 50 attorneys and 51 non-attorneys responded to the judicial performance surveys expressing their opinion of Judge Fay’s performance.
Since her appointment, Judge Fay has presided in traffic court, the general sessions division and the state criminal division. Judge Fay’s survey scores among both attorneys and non-attorneys are well above the average for county court judges in the categories of case management, application and knowledge of law, communications, demeanor, and diligence. Judge Fay received nearly universal praise in comments submitted by attorneys and non-attorneys who interacted with her. The Commission believes that Judge Fay is off to a very impressive start in her service as a judge. Based on these findings the Commission unanimously agreed the Judge Fay meets judicial performance standards.