Sharon D. Walton
Metropolitan Court Judge
Bernalillo County
Year: 2010
Evaluation: Judge Walton received mixed ratings from the various populations surveyed for this evaluation. Some of her specific strengths among attorneys include attentiveness to the proceedings, maintains proper control over proceedings, and decisively rules on procedural and substantive matters. The attorneys and court staff rated her positively for ensuring her personal staff is professional, productive and knowledgeable. The court staff also gave her positive ratings for behaving in a manner that encourages respect for the courts. Among attorneys, her scores are somewhat lower for not always displaying a sense of fairness and impartiality toward each side of the case, not always treating all participants equally, and for not always avoiding being arrogant. However, after considering the survey results, the court observations, and her interview, the Commission concluded that Judge Walton is committed to improving her judicial performance.
Experience & Education: Judge Sharon Walton has served as a Metropolitan Court Judge since August 1999. She was Assistant New Mexico Attorney General, Deputy General Counsel for the New Mexico Corrections Department, Assistant City Attorney, and General Counsel for the Albuquerque Police Department. She has been active in various community and professional organizations. Judge Walton graduated from New Mexico State University and received her law degree from the University of New Mexico.
PERCENTAGE THAT AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT THE JUDGE EXHIBITS POSITIVE QUALITIES IN EACH CATEGORY *
| Attorneys (n=185, 77.1% Response Rate) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 68% | 15% | 18% |
| Fair and Impartial | 55% | 25% | 19% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | 67% | 20% | 13% |
| Communication is Clear | 61% | 23% | 16% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 60% | 23% | 17% |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | 82% | 14% | 4% |
| Respects Court Employees | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Court Staff (n=73, 61.9% Response Rate) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 74% | 18% | 8% |
| Communication is Clear | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Respects Court Employees | 64% | 19% | 16% |
| Jurors (n=12, 34% Response Rate) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 92% | 8% | 0% |
| Fair and Impartial | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Communication is Clear | 96% | 4% | 0% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Respects Court Employees | N/A | N/A | N/A |
* On the tables above, the "Agree" columns are comprised of the strongly agree and agree responses. Similarly, the "Disagree" columns are comprised of the strongly disagree and disagree responses. The combined percentage of "Agree", "Disagree", and "Partly Agree/Partly Disagree" for each category may not equal 100% due to rounding error. "N/A" indicates that the category is "not applicable" because some populations were not asked certain questions.
PERCENTAGE THAT RECOMMEND THE JUDGE BE RETAINED OR NOT BE RETAINED IN OFFICE. ‡
‡ On the charts above, the "Retain" columns are comprised of the strongly recommend retain and somewhat recommend retain responses. Similarly, the "Do Not Retain" columns are comprised of the strongly recommend not retain and somewhat recommend not retain responses.