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 Chelsea Malone 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 Malone is known for her outstanding understanding of the law, is knowledgeable about procedure and runs a disciplined courtroom. As a judge, she has high standards for herself and others—she arrives to court well prepared and asks others to do the same. She is well respected for her courteous courtroom demeanor and her professionalism. She maintains appropriate boundaries with people who appear before her, while also mentoring new attorneys through constructive feedback. She demonstrated her expert understanding of court rules by revising the evidence chapter of a judge’s benchbook. Judge Malone’s intelligence is an asset to the statewide court system.
In evaluating Judge Malone, 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 Chelsea Malone was appointed to the Denver County Court in 2016. Prior to her appointment, she specialized in criminal defense, working as a solo practitioner. Her legal career began as a deputy public defender, where she represented clients charged with all levels of misdemeanor and felony crimes. Judge Malone is a board member of the Asian-Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wyoming and her law degree from the University of Denver.
2022 retention · County Court · Denver County
68 percentile · rank 19 of 59
composite 0100
78 percentile · rank 29 of 134
composite 0100
26 27th percentile among peers · 16th percentile statewide
4108
Composite index 66.38 among peers (75.87 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.60 of 4 · 63.56 percentile
2.503.90
3.55 of 4 · 49.15 percentile
2.453.93
100.00% 86.44 percentile
50.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 100.00%
Non-attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 85.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.20median 3.60 | 3.60 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.60median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Communications | 3.70median 3.70 | 3.70 | |
| Diligence | 3.60median 3.60 | 3.60 | |
| Demeanor | 3.60median 3.60 | 3.60 | |
| Fairness | 3.60median 3.50 | 3.50 |
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 Chelsea Malone MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Judge Malone presides over a criminal docket in Denver County Court. Judge Malone meets all aspects of the judicial performance criteria and writes in a clear, concise, and well-reasoned manner. She is described in survey results as professional and knowledgeable in the law. Commission members observed these qualities, as well as good demeanor, during their evaluation and interview. Judge Malone met the Court’s benchmark for completing 80% of cases within 360 days. The Commission did not identify any evaluation category in which Judge Malone displayed a notable weakness.
The Commission met with the Presiding Judge of Denver County Court, as well as with members of the Public Defender’s Office and Probation Department, to discuss their impressions of Judge Malone’s performance. The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Malone, observed her during court proceedings and reviewed decisions she authored, case management data, comments received from interested parties, and judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys that self-reported they had sufficient interaction with Judge Malone in the courtroom to meaningfully respond. The surveys reflected personal opinions on Judge Malone’s Case Management, Application and Knowledge of the Law, Communications, Diligence, Demeanor, and Fairness. Of the four attorneys and 22 non-attorneys who completed the survey and reported they had sufficient knowledge of Judge Malone’s performance to evaluate her, 100% of the attorneys and 85% of the non-attorneys believe that she meets performance standards. Judge Malone’s combined (attorney and non-attorney survey scores are above average for county court judges in the categories of Application and Knowledge of the Law, Communications, Diligence, Demeanor and Fairness, and her score for Case Management is near the average. 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. The overall data reviewed by the Commission supports the recommendation that Judge Malone be retained.
Mayor Hancock appointed Judge Malone in July 2016. She earned her law degree from the University of Denver and her undergraduate degree from the University of Wyoming. Prior to her appointment, Judge Malone was a solo practitioner specializing in criminal defense. She began her career as a Public Defender. She is a member of the Colorado Criminal Rules Committee and a board member of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Community Outreach Committee and the Colorado Bar Association’s Criminal Law Executive panel.
2018 retention · County Court · Denver County
90 percentile · rank 7 of 71
composite 0100
89 percentile · rank 14 of 128
composite 0100
38 19th percentile among peers · 13th percentile statewide
4130
Composite index 86.62 among peers (86.20 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.69 of 4 · 80.28 percentile
2.593.90
3.71 of 4 · 86.62 percentile
2.593.90
100.00% 92.96 percentile
0.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Overall grade
- 3.87
- Say “meets standards”
- 100.00%
Non-attorneys
- Overall grade
- 3.54
- Say “meets standards”
- 85.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.90median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.61median 3.38 | 3.38 | |
| Communications | 3.77median 3.58 | 3.58 | |
| Diligence | 3.71median 3.42 | 3.42 | |
| Demeanor | 3.72median 3.49 | 3.49 | |
| Fairness | 3.54median 3.60 | 3.60 |
Commission: meets standards (10–0)
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously (10-0) agrees that Judge Chelsea Malone MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Judge Malone was appointed to the Denver County Court in April 2016. Prior to her appointment, she was in private practice in Denver and previously served as a Deputy State Public Defender in Denver. Judge Malone graduated from the University of Wyoming and received her law degree from the University of Denver. During the past two years, Judge Malone has presided over traffic court and the civil protection docket.
To reach its decision, the Commission reviewed survey results and comments from people who have appeared in Judge Malone’s courtroom including attorneys, non-attorneys, law enforcement personnel, defendants, litigants and witnesses. The Commission also conducted an in-person interview with Judge Malone, reviewed her self-evaluation and some members of the Commission observed Judge Malone in court. Additionally, the Commission reviewed several of Judge Malone’s written and oral opinions. Among the survey questions was “based on your responses to the previous questions related to the performance evaluation criteria, do you think Judge Malone meets performance standards?” Survey feedback from 38 respondents rated Judge Malone favorably with 92% finding she meets performance standards. This includes 100% of the attorneys and 85% of the non-attorneys while 3% had no opinion and only 6% answered no, does not meet performance standards. Attorneys rated Judge Malone’s performance significantly higher than all county judges standing for retention.
Judge Malone has been described by attorneys as “intelligent, capable and efficient” and “one of the fairest, kindest, judges on the bench” with “ideal judicial temperament including patience.” Members of the Commission who observed Judge Malone in court noted that she strives to take the time to treat each person with dignity and respect. Even though she is a relatively new to the bench, Judge Malone has taken on larger projects to improve the justice system including drafting the Denver County Court’s first comprehensive traffic bench book and a bench book for civil protection orders. These bench books provide an overview of legal procedures and have been distributed to other counties as a model. Judge Malone also participates in community service projects to stay connected to those she serves. For all these reasons the Commission unanimously concluded Judge Malone meets performance standards.