Sarah M. Singleton
District Court Judge
1st Judicial District
Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, and Santa Fe Counties
Year: 2014
Evaluation: Judge Sarah Singleton received very high scores in all areas from attorneys, and she received positive scores from resource staff (e.g., law enforcement, probation and parole officers, interpreters, etc.). Although her scores among court staff were mostly positive, they rated her somewhat lower on respecting court employees regardless of position. Notwithstanding this, court staff overwhelmingly indicate Judge Singleton should be retained.
Experience & Education: Judge Singleton was appointed to the District Court in 2009 and won election to that office the following year. She was in private practice from 1976 through 2009. Prior to that, she worked in the public defender’s department. She received the Justice Mary Walters Award and Equal Access to Justice Award. She received her undergraduate degree from the Sarah Lawrence College and her law degree from Indiana University Bloomington in 1974.
PERCENTAGE THAT AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT THE JUDGE EXHIBITS POSITIVE QUALITIES IN EACH CATEGORY *
| Attorneys (n=383, 57% Response Rate) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 95% | 3% | 1% |
| Fair and Impartial | 92% | 6% | 2% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | 93% | 6% | 1% |
| Communication is Clear | 94% | 5% | 1% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 93% | 5% | 2% |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | 97% | 2% | 0% |
| Court Staff (n=54, 65% Response Rate) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Communication is Clear | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Respects Court Employees | 50% | 38% | 13% |
| Jurors (n=55, 51% Response Rate) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Fair and Impartial | 99% | 1% | 0% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Communication is Clear | 98% | 2% | 0% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Respects Court Employees | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Fair and Impartial | 69% | 27% | 4% |
| Communication is Clear | 82% | 9% | 9% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 82% | 18% | 0% |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | 75% | 8% | 17% |
| 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.