Judge in adverse possession case up for retention



Judge in adverse-possession case up for retention

Process typically gets little attention

By Ryan Morgan

Thursday, April 3, 2008

CORRECTION (4/3/08): This story should have said that public respondents asked to fill out a survey will remain anonymous, but those who approach the judicial commission do not remain anonymous.

Ongoing Coverage

Stay up-to-date in our Ongoing Coverage Section for the Adverse Possession Case

VIDEO: Nov. 18 protest picnic in support of the Kirlins. WATCH »

VIDEO: Take a look at Don and Susie Kirlin's land and hear them speak about the case. WATCH »

MAP: Satellite image Google map of Hardscrabble Drive.

AUDIO: Listen to NPR's report on the case.

AUDIO: Local singer Don Wrege composed several songs about the land dispute.

• 1. Stealing Land From Our Neighbor

• 2. This Land Belongs to Don & Susie

• 3. Edie & Dick (The Grinch Theme)

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Email Updates

Get e-mail updates as the story updates. Email automatically checks every 4 hours for new articles.

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Documents:

PDF: Read the court order.

PDF: Read the letter to Susie Kirlin from the Colorado Supreme Court’s Attorney Regulation Counsel rejecting her legal ethics claim

PDF: Read a letter sent from Richard McLean and Edith Stevens to their friends and supporters, in which they explain their actions.

PDF: Read a column by Boulder County Bar Association president Sonny Flowers that defends Boulder District Court Judge James C. Klein.

PDF: Read the police report about the suspicious package

more documents ...

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Judge James Klein, who issued a controversial ruling in a Boulder adverse possession case, will be on this fall's ballot.

As it does every even-numbered year, the 20th Judicial Commission will begin its work this month rating judges who will be on this fall's ballot. Thanks to the high-profile "land grab" case, the commission's 2008 work might get a little more attention than usual.

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Judge James Klein, who issued a controversial decision awarding a south Boulder couple a third of their neighbors' lot, will be on the ballot.

By the numbers

Since Colorado voters started weighing in on judge retention in 1990:

14 do-not-retain recommendations have been handed down by judicial commissions statewide.

10 "no opinion" rulings have been issued, indicating a deadlock.

6 judges have been ousted by voters.

Source: Colorado Judicial

Commission

Judges in Colorado are appointed, not elected. But since 1990, their names do appear on the ballot every four or six years, depending on whether they serve as district or county court judges. Voters get two choices: Retain, or don't retain. The vast majority of judges keep their seats.

Bob Greenlee, a former Boulder City Councilman and Camera columnist who first publicized the land dispute, said he's talked to people who want to convince voters to oust Klein.

"I've heard from people who are upset, people who have said they plan to follow up and lobby against the re-appointment of the judge, but I don't fall into that category," Greenlee said.

Greenlee said that while he disagreed with Klein's ruling, he doesn't think the judge strayed beyond his role.

"I think it was an outrageous decision, but that's why we have judges, to render the decisions," he said.

Klein did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday.

Most voters, if they're lucky, don't have first-hand experience dealing with judges. So the members of the 20th Judicial Commission, and others like them statewide, attempt to help voters decide whether judges should stay on the bench by issuing recommendations, commissioner Susan Kolwicz said.

The commission sends out surveys to lawyers, judges, defendants, witnesses, jurors and court employees -- anyone who's dealt with the judge. Judges are rated on how well they manage their courtrooms, whether they keep cases moving along, whether they treat people well and on the clarity and thoughtfulness of their legal reasoning, among other things.

The public is also allowed to submit written statements about judges, and the commission protects the author's identity. Input is limited to people who have had direct, in-court dealing with the judge, but Kolwicz said those comments can make an impact.

"If somebody really speaks strongly and intelligently about an individual judge, and if I get a lot of comments speaking to the same kinds of things, I'd pay attention to it," Kolwicz said. "I'd bring it up to the judge."

While some supporters of Don and Susie Kirlin, the couple whose land was handed over, might be threatening to work against Klein, Susie Kirlin said she's going to stay out of it. This week, an appeals court ordered Klein to consider overturning his original decision.

"Right now, we have some pending litigation coming up, so I think it would be really inappropriate for us to chime in on that," Kirlin said.

It's not at all common for judicial commissions to advise voters to boot sitting judges, said Jane Howell, who serves as staff director to the statewide Colorado Judicial Commission. More than 100 judges get evaluated every two years, but since 1990, commissioners have issued "do not retain" recommendations for only 14.

Just six judges statewide actually have been ousted by voters, Howell said.

She said commissioners take a broad look at a judge's performance. Anger over one case, she said, isn't likely to tip the scales.

"We look at the overall performance of the judge, and not just the outcome of one case," she said.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Ryan Morgan at 303-473-1333 or morganr@.

How retention works

Since 1990, judges in Colorado must have their names appear on the ballot every four or six years. Voters can choose to either keep the judges on the bench or kick them off. The Colorado Judicial Commission issues recommendations in the "blue books" that are distributed to voters every election.

Six judges in the 20th Judicial District are up for review this year: district judges Roxanne Bailin, Maria Berkenkotter, James Klein and Gwyn Whalen; and County Court judges John Stavely and Thomas Reed.

The commission will accept public input, either written or in person, from anyone who has had matters before those judges since Jan. 1, 2007.

A public hearing seeking input will take place from 5 to 6:30 p.m. April 17 in Courtroom F of the Boulder County Justice Center at Sixth Street and Canyon Boulevard in Boulder.

Letters should be sent to William Eckert, 20th Judicial District Judicial Performance Commission, 5431 Omaha Place, Boulder, CO 80303. Letters must include the name and address of the person submitting the comments, and the judge will receive an anonymous copy of the letter.

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