2024 retention · County Court · El Paso County
46 percentile · rank 25 of 47
composite 0100
47 percentile · rank 56 of 107
composite 0100
31 64th percentile among peers · 44th percentile statewide
671
Composite index 50.00 among peers (49.53 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.20 of 4 · 36.17 percentile
2.103.80
3.22 of 4 · 44.68 percentile
2.173.75
88.00% 69.15 percentile
27.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 88.00%
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 | 3.20median 3.10 | 3.10 | |
| Communications | 3.40median 3.30 | 3.30 | |
| Diligence | 3.40median 3.30 | 3.30 | |
| Demeanor | 3.10median 3.30 | 3.30 | |
| Fairness | 3.10median 3.20 | 3.20 |
Commission: meets standards (7–0)
The Fourth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance voted 7-0 with three absent that Judge Shannon Marie Gerhart MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Based upon interviews, surveys, and observations by the commission, Judge Gerhart has performed exceedingly well as a County Court judge. She has demonstrated excellent judicial temperament, and consistently manages an efficient docket, 94 percent of which are either traffic or misdemeanor cases. The remaining six percent are a mix of civil, juvenile and criminal. She regularly assists other judges, filling in to provide relief for their dockets. Judge Gerhart efficiently responds to court requests, rendering decisions and orders promptly. She also is committed to ensuring all people in her courtroom, whether attorney, non-attorney, plaintiff or defendant, are all treated equally, with respect and dignity. Judge Gerhart has routinely filed all required financial disclosures and has no record of judicial discipline.
The Commission reviewed Judge Gerhart’s performance by observing her in court, reading samples of her written orders, examining surveys submitted by attorneys and non-attorneys who had appeared in her courtroom, reviewing her self-evaluation, and interviewing the Chief Judge, District Attorney and Public Defender. The Commission also conducted an in-person interview with her. The Commission discussed her self-evaluation and asked for her reflection on specific comments from survey respondents. Some of the positive comments included references to Judge Gerhart’s professionalism, her willingness to mentor young attorneys and her firm, but fair demeanor in the courtroom. While there were some negative comments, the Commission found that overall Judge Gerhart is doing an excellent job. The Commission also discussed with Judge Gerhart her appellate record. Judge Gerhart’s overall combined score on the 2024 Judicial Performance Survey was 3.2 out of 4.0. There is concern among the commissioners that the relatively small number of survey respondents, only 9 attorneys and 22 non-attorneys out of over 900 surveys circulated, makes the scoring statistically invalid. The Commission thus relied primarily upon comments, interviews and actual observations of Judge Gerhart in the courtroom. The 31 people who did respond overwhelmingly stated that Judge Gerhart meets performance standards.
Judge Gerhart has served as a County Court Judge since March 2017. She attended undergraduate school at the University of Northern Iowa and law school at the University of Oklahoma. She started her career at the District Attorney’s Office as an intern during her first and second years of law school. After passing the bar, she was offered a position as a County Court District Attorney and was quickly promoted to the County Court Floater District Attorney. In 2003, she was promoted to District Court, was promoted to senior DA in 2004, and served as the County Court Senior DA and Juvenile Court Senior DA from 2004 through 2010. She was promoted to Chief Deputy District Attorney in 2011. Judge Gerhart currently presides over Division H, helps with District Court Juvenile matters and has been the County Court Presiding Judge since January 2021.
2020 retention · County Court · El Paso County
77 percentile · rank 9 of 37
composite 0100
82 percentile · rank 18 of 100
composite 0100
28 45th percentile among peers · 37th percentile statewide
380
Composite index 77.03 among peers (81.83 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.70 of 4 · 77.03 percentile
1.504.00
3.73 of 4 · 77.03 percentile
1.503.95
95.00% 77.03 percentile
0.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 95.00%
Non-attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 100.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.70median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.70median 3.30 | 3.30 | |
| Communications | 3.70median 3.60 | 3.60 | |
| Diligence | 3.70median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Demeanor | 3.70median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Fairness | 3.90median 3.90 | 3.90 |
Commission: meets standards (10–0)
The Fourth Judicial District Judicial Performance Commission unanimously (10-0) agrees that Judge Shannon Gerhart MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Judge Gerhart garnered some of the best scores for County Court Judges the Commission reviewed this cycle, highlighted by a score of 3.9 out of 4 for Fairness and 3.7 for both Communications and Demeanor. Ninety-five percent of the attorneys who answered the survey agreed that Judge Gerhart meets performance standards. Comments provided with the surveys emphasized her adherence to protocol, clear communications, intelligence, professionalism, expertise and compassion.
The Commission interviewed Judge Gerhart, observed her in Court, reviewed her self-evaluation, written opinions, judicial performance data, comments from attorneys and non-attorneys, and the judicial performance survey results from 2019 and 2020. It should be noted that a new methodology for the survey was used this year to which lower response rates may be attributed. This methodology affected all judges across the board and is not an explanation for individual results. The Commission also spoke with representatives of the District Attorney’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office.
Judge Gerhart was appointed to the bench on March 30, 2017. She began her legal career at the District Attorney’s Office as an intern during her first and second years of law school. Soon after passing the bar in 2001 she was offered a position as a County Court Deputy District Attorney. Judge Gerhart was promoted to the position of Senior District Attorney in 2004 and served as the County Court Senior DA and Juvenile Court Senior DA from 2004 through 2010. She was promoted to Chief Deputy District Attorney in 2011 and served in that capacity until being appointed to the bench. Judge Gerhart’s docket includes domestic violence cases, restraining orders, evictions, small claims, misdemeanor criminal cases and miscellaneous traffic matters.