2026 retention · Court of Appeals · Statewide
2nd of 7 (too few for a percentile)
composite 0100
97 percentile · rank 3 of 108
composite 0100
36 1st most of 7 among peers · 83rd percentile statewide
1936
Composite index 71.43 among peers (93.21 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.80 of 4
3.603.90
3.80 of 4
2.854.00
100.00%
75.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 100.00%
Non-attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 100.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | 3.80median 3.60 | 3.60 | |
| Writing | 3.80median 3.60 | 3.60 |
| Year | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | 4.00 | 3.70 |
| Responses | 7 | 19 |
Commission: meets standards (9–0)
The State Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously finds by a vote of 9-0, with one commission absence and one commission vacancy, that Judge Pax Moultrie MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. Colorado’s statutory judicial performance standards are integrity, legal knowledge, communication skills, judicial temperament, and service to the legal profession and the public.
Judge Moultrie was appointed to the Colorado Court of Appeals in January 2024, and this is her first time standing for retention as a Court of Appeals Judge. The Commission finds that her opinions are thoughtful, accessible, and well written. At oral argument, she has an excellent judicial demeanor, engages with the attorneys, and is respectful of all parties. The Commission commends Judge Moultrie for her service to the judicial branch’s well-being efforts to support judicial officers and employees as well as her efforts to educate the community about the courts. In sum, the Commission finds Judge Moultrie is a valuable addition to the Court of Appeals.
To conduct its evaluation, the Commission interviewed Judge Moultrie, reviewed her self-evaluation, observed oral arguments, read a selection of her legal opinions, and considered survey responses from attorneys and judges. Every surveyed respondent agreed that Judge Moultrie meets Colorado’s Judicial Performance Standards. She received positive comments from lawyers with respect to her courteous demeanor during oral arguments and her ability to write in plain language so that both lawyers and laypersons can understand her opinions. Judge Moultrie received positive comments from fellow judges, especially with respect to the valuable perspective she brings as a former juvenile court judge.
Judge Moultrie earned her bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis and her law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. She began her legal career as a law clerk in the 1st Judicial District, which was followed by a clerkship with the Colorado Supreme Court. She then represented county departments of human services in dependency and neglect matters and juvenile delinquency matters. Before joining the Court of Appeals, she served as a district court judge for Denver Juvenile Court, where she presided over a docket consisting of dependency and neglect cases, juvenile delinquency cases, and adoptions. She also previously served as a magistrate in the 1st Judicial District. She is a member of several specialty bar associations, including the Sam Cary Bar Association and the Colorado Women’s Bar Association. She is a Fellow of the Colorado Bar Foundation and is a founding member of the Irving P. Andrews Inn of Court. Judge Moultrie has served as an appointed board member of law-related and community non-profit organizations and is currently active in the Colorado Judicial Branch’s well-being efforts to support judicial officers and employees.
2022 retention · District Court · 2nd Judicial District
99 percentile · rank 1 of 67
composite 0100
97 percentile · rank 4 of 134
composite 0100
19 3rd percentile among peers · 10th percentile statewide
15132
Composite index 97.51 among peers (94.15 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.80 of 4 · 97.76 percentile
2.603.80
3.82 of 4 · 99.25 percentile
2.583.82
100.00% 95.52 percentile
43.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 100.00%
Non-attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 100.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.80median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.80median 3.30 | 3.30 | |
| Communications | 3.80median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Diligence | 3.80median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Demeanor | 3.90median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Fairness | 3.80median 3.40 | 3.40 |
Commission: meets standards (9–0)
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance agrees by a vote of 9-0, with one Commissioner absent from voting, that Judge Pax Moultrie 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 Moultrie presides over juvenile cases in Denver Juvenile Court. Judge Moultrie meets all aspects of the judicial performance criteria and writes and communicates in a clear, concise, and well-reasoned manner. Judge Moultrie was described in survey results as knowledgeable, well prepared and exceptional. Commission members observed these qualities during their evaluation and interview. For the cases open on Judge Moultrie’s docket as of April 2022, Judge Moultrie met the Court’s benchmarks for completing 90% of juvenile adoption and permanency plan cases in 12 months, but did not meet, by a small margin, 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 Moultrie displayed a notable weakness.
The Commission met with the Juvenile Court Presiding Judge regarding Judge Moultrie’s performance, as well as members of the District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office and Probation Department. The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Moultrie 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 Moultrie’s Case Management, Application and Knowledge of the Law, Communications, Diligence, Demeanor, and Fairness. Of the 11 attorneys and eight non-attorneys who completed the survey and reported they had sufficient knowledge of Judge Moultrie’s performance to evaluate her, 100% of the attorneys and 100% of the non-attorneys believe that Judge Moultrie met performance standards. Judge Moultrie’s combined (attorney and non-attorney) survey scores are above average for district court judges in all categories. Judge Moultrie received scores slightly above the statewide average for all district court judges from the 13 appellate judges who evaluated her performance. Judge Moultrie received nearly universal praise in comments submitted by attorneys and non-attorneys who interacted with her. 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 the recommendation that Judge Moultrie be retained.
Governor Polis appointed Denver Juvenile Court in April 2020. She earned her undergraduate degree from Washington University and her law degree from the University of Denver. Previously, she was a Magistrate in the First Judicial District presiding over a caseload of juvenile and domestic relations matters. Judge Moultrie also was an Assistant County Attorney involved in human services litigation for the Arapahoe County and Jefferson County Attorney’s Offices. Her prior service has included membership on the boards of Colorado’s Office of Child Protection Ombudsman, Juvenile Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association, and the planning committee for the Colorado Juvenile Judicial Institute.