Michelle Castillo Dowler
Metropolitan Court Judge
Bernalillo County
Year: 2024
Evaluation: Judge Michelle Castillo Dowler received positive ratings from attorneys. Attorneys rated the judge highly for being attentive to the proceedings, being prepared for court proceedings, and for ensuring that participants understand the court proceedings. The attorneys and the court staff rated Judge Castillo Dowler positively for ensuring her personal staff is professional, productive, and knowledgeable of court policies and procedures.
Experience & Education: Judge Michelle Castillo Dowler was appointed to Metro Court in 2013 and was elected 2014. Prior to her appointment and election to Metro Court, Judge Castillo Dowler served as an assistant district attorney from 1998 to 2012. Judge Castillo Dowler received her undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico in 1995 and her law degree from the University of New Mexico in 1998.
PERCENTAGE THAT AGREE OR DISAGREE THAT THE JUDGE EXHIBITS POSITIVE QUALITIES IN EACH CATEGORY *
| Attorneys (n=31, 26% Response Rate) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Exhibits Integrity | 77% | 6% | 16% |
| Fair and Impartial | 74% | 9% | 17% |
| Application/ Knowledge of Law | 80% | 11% | 10% |
| Communication is Clear | 87% | 6% | 6% |
| Professional Demeanor | 68% | 13% | 19% |
| Preparation and Attentiveness | 87% | 8% | 5% |
| Court Staff (n=38) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Professional Demeanor | 63% | 13% | 24% |
| Respects Court Employees | 58% | 18% | 24% |
| Jurors (n=6, 46% Response Rate) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Fair and Impartial | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Communication is Clear | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Professional Demeanor | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Preparation and Attentiveness | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Resource Staff (n=14) | |||
| Category | Agree | Partly Agree/ Partly Disagree | Disagree |
| Fair and Impartial | 73% | 22% | 5% |
| Communication is Clear | 79% | 7% | 14% |
| Professional Demeanor | 79% | 7% | 14% |
| Preparation and Attentiveness | 82% | 14% | 4% |
Please Note: Due to the small sample size among Resource Staff, caution should be exercised when interpreting the findings or drawing conclusions from the results among the Resource Staff population.
*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. Some of the percentages that are reported in the above categories are an average of more than one question that appeared on the survey.