2022 retention · District Court · 11th Judicial District
58 percentile · rank 28 of 67
composite 0100
49 percentile · rank 68 of 134
composite 0100
33 20th percentile among peers · 25th percentile statewide
15132
Composite index 52.49 among peers (45.40 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.50 of 4 · 64.18 percentile
2.603.80
3.50 of 4 · 64.93 percentile
2.583.82
81.00% 28.36 percentile
43.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 81.00%
Non-attorneys
- Say “meets standards”
- 79.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.50median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.40median 3.30 | 3.30 | |
| Communications | 3.60median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Diligence | 3.50median 3.40 | 3.40 | |
| Demeanor | 3.60median 3.50 | 3.50 | |
| Fairness | 3.40median 3.40 | 3.40 |
Commission: meets standards (10–0)
The Eleventh Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance voted 10 – 0 that Judge Patrick William Murphy 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 Murphy presides over criminal, civil, domestic relations and probate matters in his courtroom. Judge Murphy received high marks in case management, application and knowledge of law, communications, diligence, demeanor and fairness. Judge Murphy’s calm and respectful demeanor in the courtroom was observed by the Commission during their observations and he received positive comments for giving proceedings a sense of dignity, treating participants with respect and having a sense of compassion and human understanding for those who appear before him.
The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Murphy, reviewed opinions he authored, observed him in court, reviewed comments received from interested parties during the evaluation and reviewed surveys sent to attorneys and non-attorneys who had experience with Judge Murphy. Among the survey questions was “based on your response to the previous questions related to the performance evaluation criteria, do you think Judge Murphy meets judicial performance standards?” Of the attorneys responding to the survey, 81% answered, yes, meets performance standards, 19% answered, no, does not meet performance standards. Of non-attorneys responding to the survey, 79% answered, yes, meets performance standards, 14% responded, no, does not meet performance standards and 7% had no opinion regarding whether Judge Murphy meets or does not meet performance standards. (These percentages may not total 100% due to rounding). A total of 36 attorneys and 19 non-attorneys responded to the judicial performance surveys expressing their opinion of Judge Murphey’s performance.
Judge Murphy was appointed to the bench in September 2012 and took the bench January 2013. Prior to that, Judge Murphy was Office Head – Salida Regional Office of the Colorado State Public Defender. A Denver native and graduate from Denver Public Schools, Judge Murphy received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in American History from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1989 and graduated with a law degree from the University of Colorado school of Law in 1993. Judge Murphy then began work with the Office of the State Public Defender working in Denver, Trinidad and La Junta before moving to Salida in 1995, where he still resides. In 2003 he became the head of the Salida Regional Office of the Colorado State Public Defender and was appointed to be a District Judge by Governor Hickenlooper in 2012 taking the bench in January of 2013. In 2015 he was named Chief Judge of the 11 th Judicial District by Chief Justice Nancy Rice.
2016 retention · District Court · 11th Judicial District
71 percentile · rank 18 of 61
composite 0100
69 percentile · rank 33 of 108
composite 0100
50 22nd percentile among peers · 24th percentile statewide
17164
Composite index 69.13 among peers (69.14 statewide): the mean of the three percentiles below. Rank orders by it.
3.62 of 4 · 70.49 percentile
2.793.84
3.63 of 4 · 77.87 percentile
2.813.84
87.00% 59.02 percentile
40.00%100.00%
Attorneys
- Overall grade
- 3.65
- Say “meets standards”
- 87.00%
Non-attorneys
- Overall grade
- 3.61
- Say “meets standards”
- 91.00%
| Category | Score | Peer median | Peer range (dot is this judge, line is the median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Management | 3.61median 3.38 | 3.38 | |
| Application and Knowledge of Law | 3.56median 3.41 | 3.41 | |
| Communications | 3.74median 3.53 | 3.53 | |
| Diligence | 3.62median 3.48 | 3.48 | |
| Demeanor | 3.64median 3.47 | 3.47 | |
| Fairness | 3.60median 3.68 | 3.68 |
Commission: meets standards (9–0)
The Eleventh Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously (9-0) recommends that Chief Judge Patrick William Murphy BE RETAINED.
Judge Murphy graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 1989 and University of Colorado Law School in 1993. Judge Murphy worked as a Public Defender for 20 years and was appointed as a District Judge in 2012. He became Chief Judge of the 11th Judicial District in 2015. Judge Murphy is active in civic projects in the community, especially those involving the local schools.
The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Murphy, reviewed opinions he authored, observed him in court, reviewed comments received from interested parties during the evaluation and reviewed survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who had experience with Judge Murphy. Among the survey questions was "how strongly do you recommend that Judge Murphy be retained in office, or not be retained in office?" Of attorneys completing the survey 87% recommended to retain and 13% not to retain. Of non-attorneys completing the survey 91% recommended to retain and 9% not to retain. A total of 17 attorneys and 33 non-attorneys responded to the judicial performance surveys regarding Judge Murphy.
Judge Murphy is the Chief Judge of the 11th Judicial District. Besides his administrative duties in that capacity, he presides over criminal, civil and domestic matters in his courtroom. Based on the survey results of attorneys and appellate judges, Judge Murphy received an overall combined rating which exceeds the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy's overall performance rated by non-attorneys responding to the surveys was consistent with the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy was perceived by non-attorneys to be more lenient in sentencing than the combined rating of all district judges standing for retention. Judge Murphy received high marks from attorneys for his case management and application and overall knowledge of the law. Judge Murphy’s calm and respectful demeanor in the courtroom was observed by the Commission during their observations, and he received positive comments for his patience and dignity by survey respondents.