BOULDER — A state panel’s recommendation not to retain a district judge is one-sided because no prosecutors were included in a survey of attorneys, Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said.
He said gender bias might have played a role in the survey’s criticism of District Judge Karolyn Moore, the Daily Camera reported Saturday.
The State Commission on Judicial Performance recommended voters not retain Moore in next month’s election. The commission cited a survey showing some attorneys considered her biased toward prosecutors and harsh in sentencing.
Garnett, who has recommended that Moore be retained, said the survey didn’t include any prosecutors.
Kent Wagner, executive director of the commission, acknowledged no prosecutors were included in the survey of Moore and two other Boulder County judges up for retention votes. Moore was the only one not recommended for retention.
Wagner said the commission does not rely only on the surveys but also uses interviews, courtroom observation and public hearings for its recommendations.
In a response on the commission website, Moore called the survey results imbalanced and said she tries to be impartial.
Garnett also suspects the negative survey results on Moore were partly because of gender bias. Fewer than 30 percent of Colorado’s judges are women, but 10 of the 15 judges not recommended for retention since 1998 were women, he said.
