Report: Voters should retain judge in ‘land-grab’ case
By Heath Urie
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Judge James Klein, who issued a controversial ruling in a
Boulder adverse possession case, will be on this fall's ballot.
In its annual report in advance of the November elections, the 20th Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously recommended that Boulder voters retain District Court Judge James C. Klein.
Last fall, Klein ruled in favor of Richard McLean, a former district court judge and Boulder mayor, and his wife Edith Stevens, an attorney, who sued neighbors Don and Susie Kirlin for a piece of their million-dollar lot using the squatter's rights law of "adverse possession."
The commission, which evaluates every judge scheduled to stand for retention this year -- and is charged with providing voters with fair evaluations of judges -- concluded that Klein was fair, though perhaps unpopular, in making the controversial ruling.
"The commission notes that this is only one of over one thousand cases handled by Judge Klein over the past three years," the group wrote. "The commission reviewed Judge Klein's rulings in the case. Judge Klein listened to the testimony presented, visited the site twice, and wrote clear and articulate rulings.
"Without offering any opinion on the merits of the decision, or whether the decision will be upheld by the appellate court, it is the opinion of the commission that Judge Klein followed appropriate procedures. Disagreement with the result should not be expressed as unhappiness with Judge Klein's performance."
On Wednesday, McLean said he'd "never met Judge Klein before the case," but found him to be fair during trial.
The Kirlins could not be reached for comment, and several attorneys involved in the case declined to comment because the couple has filed an appeal.
Klein declined comment Wednesday through his clerk.
Rob McCallum, spokesman for the State Court Administrator's Office, said Klein is ethically bound not to "campaign" for his seat by commenting about his performance review.
The judicial review panel evaluated Klein on a number of criteria -- including integrity and legal knowledge -- and included in its research written opinions and decisions, caseload statistics, interviews, courtroom observations, judges' self-evaluations and independent surveys.
However, when the commission was in Boulder to accept public comment about Klein's performance, only one person showed up -- he was not allowed to testify because his case was ongoing.
Of the 12,400 people surveyed for the report, 87 percent of the non-lawyers and 92 percent of the lawyers who appeared in Klein's courtroom recommended that Klein be retained. Appellate court judges who rated Klein's performance gave him an average grade of "B," which the commission noted was slightly below the overall average rating of "B+" among all Colorado district court judges.
Klein was ranked 73rd out of the 89 judges included in the survey.
The results, the commission said, were mostly due to Klein's relative inexperience on the bench -- having been appointed in 2005.
"Judge Klein acknowledged that he is still learning a great deal in certain areas of law, particularly criminal law and procedure, and expressed a willingness to continue this process," the panel wrote. "The commission believes that Judge Klein needs to be more proactive in this learning process, to consult with colleagues, to attend educational programs, and to take advantage of other educational opportunities."
Boulder Court Administrator Amy Waddle said she thinks Klein "will take the advice of the commission" in pursuing educational opportunities, as the commission suggests.
Before his appointment, Klein was an administrative law judge, an assistant attorney general, and a private practitioner. He received his law degree from the University of Denver in 1987.
The review committee also recommended Boulder voters retain each of the 14 judges who will appear on the November ballots.
Statewide, the commission recommended only one judge, Judy Archuleta, of Jefferson County, not be retained.
The commissions' recommendations are included in the "Blue Book" mailed to every registered voter later this year. To read the comprehensive reports, visit www.cojudicialperformance.com.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Heath Urie at 303-473-1328 or .