Ann M. Rotolo

Ann M. Rotolo hears mostly misdemeanor cases on the El Paso County Court, with civil cases making up about 20 percent of her docket. She was appointed to the court in 2008 by Governor Bill Ritter.

She graduated with honors from Miami University in Ohio and earned her law degree at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 1991. Before taking the bench she worked as a deputy county attorney, in private practice and as a magistrate. She sat on the Colorado Judicial Disciplinary Review Board for almost 17 years. She recently resigned from the State Personnel Rules Committee after more than 13 years and from the ComCor Board after more than 5 years. She takes part in Teen Court. Voters retained her in 2022 with 67.18 percent of the votes cast on the question.

The commission writes that her strengths "include her deep legal knowledge from many years of experience, communication skills, and demeanor." It reports that when participants "seem overwhelmed, she attempts to slow the proceedings and offer additional explanations."

The commission interviewed her, Chief Judge Sokol and representatives of the Public Defender and District Attorney offices. It reports that survey respondents rated her 3.5 out of 4.0 overall and that 21 of 23 respondents believe she meets performance standards.

The commission also writes that it "received concerns that Judge Rotolo may overstep her judicial role and become overly involved in case resolution prior to trial." Judge Rotolo explained that she encourages parties to negotiate a satisfactory resolution in appropriate cases, citing the saying "When two elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers."