Tarryn L. Johnson

Judge Johnson presides over domestic relations, civil, criminal, juvenile, probate and mental health matters in the Fifteenth Judicial District. She was appointed to the court in December 2022 and named the district's chief judge in August 2024.

Before her appointment she was a senior deputy state public defender in the La Junta Regional Office, covering the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Judicial Districts. She holds an undergraduate degree in government from Adams State University and a law degree from Texas Tech University School of Law. She has spoken at area high schools about the judicial branch, taken part in mock trials in local schools and coaches soccer.

Four seats on the commission were vacant when it voted. The commission writes that survey responses "were low in number compared to those invitations sent out". All of the attorneys who responded said she meets performance standards; of the non-attorneys, 73 percent said she does and 18 percent said she does not. She received an overall score of 3.2 on a 4-point scale.

The commission writes that her "demeanor is described as patient and respectful" and that she "uses language all parties can understand, explaining the process and her decisions." It reports that she "moves her cases along timely and issues orders promptly, with her written decisions being both clear and concise." It also reports that she treats parties fairly and prepares fully for court, and that at times she could make it clearer that her findings rest on what was presented to her.