Karen L. Parsons
District Court Judge
12th Judicial District
Lincoln and Otero Counties
Year: 2014
Evaluation: Judge Karen Parsons received positive ratings from both attorneys and non-attorneys. Attorneys rated her highly for being courteous to all participants, demonstrating appropriate demeanor on the bench, punctuality in commencing proceedings, and ensuring personal staff is professional, productive, and knowledgeable of court policies and procedures. She received positive ratings from the court staff for behaving in a manner that encourages respect for the courts and respecting court employees regardless of position. In addition, the resource staff (e.g., law enforcement, probation and parole officers, interpreters, etc.) rated Judge Parsons highly in all areas.
Experience & Education: Judge Karen Parsons was appointed to the District Court in February 1997 and was elected to such position the following year. Prior to her appointment as District Judge, she worked in private law practice for over 18 years, specializing in family law issues and personal injury litigation. She received her undergraduate degree from New Mexico State University and her law degree from the University of New Mexico in 1978.
PERCENTAGE THAT AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT THE JUDGE EXHIBITS POSITIVE QUALITIES IN EACH CATEGORY *
| Attorneys (n=56, 58% Response Rate) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 87% | 7% | 5% |
| Fair and Impartial | 77% | 16% | 7% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | 84% | 13% | 3% |
| Communication is Clear | 83% | 16% | 1% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 97% | 2% | 1% |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | 89% | 9% | 2% |
| Court Staff (n=20, 63% 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 | 83% | 8% | 8% |
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Fair and Impartial | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Communication is Clear | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | 96% | 4% | 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.