The Seventeenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial
Performance recommends that Judge Jeffrey L. Romeo BE
RETAINED.
Judge Romeo was appointed to the Adams County Court in 1990. Prior
to that time, he was a Deputy District Attorney and was engaged
in private practice. Judge Romeo's docket has been primarily a criminal
docket, but he recently spent a year hearing civil cases. After
Judge Romeo completed his civil court duties, the Adams County Court
was ranked first in the state for the number of cases completed
in less than six months.
When Judge Romeo was evaluated in the year 2000, the Commission
expressed concern regarding survey results critical of Judge Romeo's
demeanor, judicial temperament and willingness to follow adverse
decisions of the District Court. The Commission was impressed that
the responses received in this evaluation year reflect Judge Romeo's
improvement in all areas. Although during his personal interview
Judge Romeo had brief and sparse input into the self-evaluation
process, he attributed his improved ratings to possibly correcting
"unconscious actions" or being "cognizant of his
audience." Judge Romeo is committed to "treating people
as he would like to be treated." The Commission encourages
Judge Romeo to continue to assess his demeanor and commit to future
introspection of his behavior on the bench.
Attorney questionnaires reviewed by the Commission rate Judge Romeo
high overall, and his ratings are a marked improvement over those
submitted in 2000. Of the attorney responses received, 92% voted
to retain Judge Romeo and 9% voted to not retain. Of the non-attorney
responses received, 84% voted to retain and 16% voted to not retain.
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