Morris B. Hoffman
| Morris B. Hoffman | |
 | |
| Current Court Information: | |
| Colorado Second Judicial District | |
| Title: | Judge |
| Past position: | Private Practice |
| Personal History | |
| Bachelors: | University of Colorado |
| Law School: | University of Colorado |
| Candidate 2012: | |
| Candidate for: | Second Judicial District |
| State: | Colorado |
| Election information 2012: | |
| Incumbent: | Yes |
| Election date: | 11/6/2012 |
| Retention vote: | 144,324 |
| Retention vote %: | 75.77%  |
Contents |
Morris B. Hoffman is a judge in the Second Judicial District in Denver, Colorado. He was appointed to this position in December of 1990.[1]
Education
Hoffman has earned a mathematics degree and law degree (1977) from the University of Colorado.[1]
Legal career
Hoffman worked as a private practice lawyer in Denver, Colorado prior to his judicial appointment in 1990. He specialized in commercial litigation, real estate and bankruptcy law. He has been published in multiple law journals and is the judge-in-residence at the Gruter Institute for Law and Behavioral Research.[1][2]
Publications
Hoffman collaborated in 2007 with two economists from Emory University, Paul Rubin and Joanna Shepherd, on an econometric study of the effectiveness of public defenders versus attorneys who represent criminal defendants on a fee basis. The paper was published in the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law and also resulted in an opinion column in the New York Times called, Free-Market Justice.
In their research for the paper, they studied all 5,224 felony criminal cases filed in Denver in 2002, assessing the amount of jail or prison time received by defendants represented by public defenders versus defendants represented by private attorneys.
The study concluded that the average sentence for clients of public defenders was about three years longer than the average for clients of private lawyers.[2]
Elections
2012 election
Hoffman was retained in the general election on November 6, winning 75.77% of the vote. [3]
- See also: Colorado judicial elections, 2012
Judicial performance evaluation
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance announced its recommendations for judges up for retention in 2012. According to its website, the commission evaluates judges based on the following criteria: integrity, legal knowledge, communication skills, judicial temperament, and administrative performance. [4]
Criticism of process
There are critics of the state's method for evaluating judges. The most common complaint is that the evaluations are simply "rubber stamps" for judges standing for retention. To learn more about this viewpoint, read: The Denver Post, "Evaluating the performance of justices," February 15, 2010.
Judge Hoffman was recommended for retention by an unanimous vote. [5]
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Official biography of Judge Morris B. Hoffman
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 New York Times, "Free-Market Justice", January 8, 2007
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, 2012 Official General Election Results
- ↑ Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation, Press Release: Judge Evaluations Available on Internet August 7
- ↑ Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation, Morris B. Hoffman
