Allison P. Ernst

Allison P. Ernst was appointed to the Tenth Judicial District Court in Pueblo in December 2016. She presides over criminal cases and runs the Competency Court Docket in Pueblo County, which the commission writes she was "instrumental in implementing". Voters retained her in 2020 with 70.5 percent of the votes cast on the question: 55,164 yes and 23,088 no.

She earned her undergraduate and law degrees at Michigan State University and then held an Equal Justice Works Fellowship with the university's Low Income Taxpayer Clinic. She joined the Colorado State Public Defender's Office in 2005, worked as a public defender until 2011 and was in private practice until her appointment.

The Tenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance voted 8 to 2 that she meets performance standards. Four attorneys and ten non-attorneys responded to its survey, and the commission found their responses consistent with its independent evaluations.

The commission describes her demeanor as "professional, respectful, compassionate, and thoughtful" and her opinions as reflecting "her knowledge of the law". It calls her "diligent, knowledgeable, and thorough." It reports "some concern that the judge’s sentencing practices may, at times, be more lenient than typical for comparable cases, with outcomes leaning toward the lower end of the range in certain matters." That concern, it writes, "has raised questions about consistency and proportionality, as well as whether those decisions consistently align with the seriousness of the offense, broader considerations of public safety, and public confidence in the judicial system."