Denise Barela-Shepherd
District Court Judge
2nd Judicial District
Bernalillo County
Year: 2020
Evaluation: Judge Denise Barela-Shepherd received positive ratings from attorneys and received generally positive ratings from court staff. For example, attorneys rated the judge positively for being punctual in commencing proceedings, being attentive to the proceedings, for maintaining proper control over the proceedings, and for ensuring her personal staff is professional, productive and knowledgeable. Her scores from attorneys have improved during her time on the bench. However, some court staff felt that the judge does not always respect court employees regardless of their position.
Experience & Education: Judge Denise Barela-Shepherd was appointed to the bench in 2003 and was elected to the bench in 2004. Judge Barela-Shepherd is experienced in civil and criminal law. She currently hears exclusively civil cases. Before becoming a District Court Judge, Judge Barela-Shepherd worked as a practicing attorney focusing on civil law. Judge Barela-Shepherd received her undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University in 1982 and her law degree from the UNM School of Law in 1989.
PERCENTAGE THAT AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT THE JUDGE EXHIBITS POSITIVE QUALITIES IN EACH CATEGORY *
| Attorneys (n=224, 37% Response Rate) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 90% | 6% | 4% |
| Fair and Impartial | 82% | 11% | 7% |
| Knowledgeable of Law | 79% | 15% | 6% |
| Communication is Clear | 87% | 9% | 3% |
| Appropriate Demeanor | 89% | 7% | 4% |
| Properly Controls Proceedings | 94% | 6% | 0% |
| Court Staff (n=103, 41% 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 | 55% | 16% | 29% |
* 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.