Item B: Judicial Evaluation Committee Report

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disagreed that Judge Allen's performance met the standard as described. Space was provided in the survey instrument for respondents to make written comments on Judge Allen's performance in each area and on what they saw as major issues for the municipal court. The survey audience for the March 2006 survey was: 1. Defense attorneys appearing in Eugene Municipal Court at least four times during the past four years, 2. City prosecutors, 3. Court interpreters and volunteer advocates who have worked in Eugene Municipal Court during the past four years, 4. Eugene Police traffic officers, 5. Other Eugene Municipal Court judges, and 6. Eugene Municipal Court staff. SURVEY RESULTS Detailed results are shown in an attachment to this report. Overall the survey return rate was 24.1 %, with 203 surveys sent and 49 returned. This compares favorably with the survey return rate in 2002 of 21.9%. The greatest number of surveys received were from defense attorneys (15), followed by court staff (13). Survey respondents assessed Judge Allen's performance as very positive, with the majority either strongly agreeing or agreeing that he met all of the performance standards described in the survey. The overwhelming majority of comments about his performance as presiding judge were very positive. Some examples of these comments are listed here: "Extremely knowledgeable, very capable." "He started Paso a Paso program, bilingual videos-shows special interest in minorities. " "He always demonstrates integrity and fairness in all his court cases." "I have heard and seen Judge Allen keep remarkably cool and collected, even in the face of extremely hostile and irrational people. In cases where some defendants live outside the margins of society, the courtroom is the one place where they are treated with dignity and respect." "Judge Allen promotes consistent standards, behavior and approach among the other judges." "1 find Judge Allen to be consistently impartial to all parties, show excellent communication skills, and his overall conduct promotes public confidence in the court justice system." "It's easy to be somewhat biased when you work with someone with so much respect for the law and someone so dedicated to serving the community in a fair and equitable manner. Judge Allen evokes trust in the system and this is felt and commented on even by defendants." The few negative comments from survey respondents related to: supervision of one judge, lack of community outreach efforts, and judicial demeanor. Comments regarding major issues for the court included: