Gregory Robert Werner

Gregory Robert Werner was appointed to the bench in July 2006 after about 18 years as a trial attorney in Colorado Springs. His docket on the Fourth Judicial District Court is mostly civil cases (70 percent) and probate matters (25 percent), with some mental health cases, and he is the presiding judge in probate, civil and water court cases. He has presided over several high-profile criminal trials in recent years. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado in 1983 and graduated from the University of Colorado Law School in 1987. Voters retained him in 2020 with 56.77 percent of the votes cast on the question: 180,823 yes and 137,711 no.

The Fourth Judicial District Performance Commission voted 9 to 0, with one absence, that he meets performance standards. It reports that 22 of 34 responding attorneys and four of eight responding non-attorneys rated him as meeting the standards. The survey report shows that nine attorneys and four non-attorneys said he did not, and that two attorneys had no opinion. The commission writes that "because the response rate to surveys was less than 3% for attorneys (34 of 767) and 1% for non-attorneys (6 of 125), the survey responses are statistically invalid." It reports that he "received relatively high scores from the Appellate Judges that responded to the surveys."

The commission writes that "Judge Werner conducts his courtroom formally, to demonstrate that he has not pre-judged the matter, does not favor any party, and applies the law to the facts without the influence of emotion." The comments it reports from lawyers and the public include "Judge Werner sets high expectations but does so respectfully".