United States District Court for the District of Colorado

Not to be confused with Colorado District Courts.

The United States District Court for the District of Colorado (in case citations, D. Colo. or D. Col.) is a federal court in the Tenth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

United States District Court for the District of Colorado
(D. Colo.)
Location	Denver More locations Byron G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse (Denver) Colorado Springs Grand Junction Durango Boulder Montrose Pueblo Sterling
Appeals to	Tenth Circuit
Established	June 26, 1876
Judges	7
Chief Judge	Philip A. Brimmer
Officers of the court
U.S. Attorney	Cole Finegan
U.S. Marshal	Kirk M. Taylor
www.cod.uscourts.gov

U.S. Customhouse

The District was established on June 26, 1876, pending Colorado statehood on August 1, 1876.^[1]

As of December 1, 2021^[update], the United States attorney for the District is Cole Finegan.^[2]

Organization of the court

The United States District Court for the District of Colorado is the sole federal judicial district in Colorado.^[3] Court for the District is held at Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, and Grand Junction.

Current judges

As of January 12, 2024^[update]:

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
24	Chief Judge	Philip A. Brimmer	Denver	1959	2008–present	2019–present	—	G.W. Bush
29	District Judge	Daniel D. Domenico	Denver	1972	2019–present	—	—	Trump
30	District Judge	Regina M. Rodriguez	Denver	1963	2021–present	—	—	Biden
31	District Judge	Charlotte Sweeney	Denver	1969	2022–present	—	—	Biden
32	District Judge	Nina Y. Wang	Denver	1972	2022–present	—	—	Biden
33	District Judge	Gordon Gallagher	Grand Junction	1970	2023–present	—	—	Biden
34	District Judge	Kato Crews	Denver	1975	2024–present	—	—	Biden
12	Senior Judge	John L. Kane Jr.	Denver	1937	1977–1988	—	1988–present	Carter
16	Senior Judge	Lewis Babcock	Denver	1943	1988–2008	2000–2007	2008–present	Reagan
21	Senior Judge	Marcia S. Krieger	Denver	1954	2002–2019	2013–2019	2019–present	G.W. Bush
22	Senior Judge	Robert E. Blackburn	Denver	1950	2002–2016	—	2016–present	G.W. Bush
25	Senior Judge	Christine Arguello	Denver	1955	2008–2022	—	2022–present	G.W. Bush
26	Senior Judge	William J. Martínez	Denver	1954	2010–2023	—	2023–present	Obama
27	Senior Judge	R. Brooke Jackson	Denver	1947	2011–2021	—	2021–present	Obama
28	Senior Judge	Raymond P. Moore	Denver	1953	2013–2023	—	2023–present	Obama

Former judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Moses Hallett	CO	1834–1913	1877–1906	—	—	Grant	retirement
2	Robert E. Lewis	CO	1857–1941	1906–1921	—	—	T. Roosevelt	elevation to 8th Cir.
3	John Foster Symes	CO	1878–1951	1922–1950	—	1950–1951	Harding	death
4	William Lee Knous	CO	1889–1959	1950–1959	1954–1959	—	Truman	death
5	Jean Sala Breitenstein	CO	1900–1986	1954–1957	—	—	Eisenhower	elevation to 10th Cir.
6	Alfred A. Arraj	CO	1906–1992	1957–1976	1959–1976	1976–1992	Eisenhower	death
7	Olin Hatfield Chilson	CO	1903–1991	1960–1973	—	1973–1991	Eisenhower	death
8	William Edward Doyle	CO	1911–1986	1961–1971	—	—	Kennedy	elevation to 10th Cir.
9	Fred M. Winner	CO	1912–2003	1970–1982	1976–1982	1982–1984	Nixon	retirement
10	Sherman Glenn Finesilver	CO	1927–2006	1971–1994	1982–1994	1994	Nixon	retirement
11	Richard Paul Matsch	CO	1930–2019	1974–2003	1994–2000	2003–2019	Nixon	death
13	Jim Carrigan	CO	1929–2014	1979–1994	—	1994–1995	Carter	retirement
14	Zita Leeson Weinshienk	CO	1933–2022	1979–1998	—	1998–2011	Carter	retirement
15	John Carbone Porfilio	CO	1934–present	1982–1985	—	—	Reagan	elevation to 10th Cir.
17	Edward Nottingham	CO	1948–present	1989–2008	2007–2008	—	G.H.W. Bush	resignation
18	Daniel B. Sparr	CO	1931–2006	1990–2001	—	2001–2006	G.H.W. Bush	death
19	Wiley Young Daniel	CO	1946–2019	1995–2013	2008–2013	2013–2019	Clinton	death
20	Walker David Miller	CO	1939–2013	1996–2008	—	2008–2013	Clinton	death
23	Phillip S. Figa	CO	1951–2008	2003–2008	—	—	G.W. Bush	death

Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.

A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.

When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat established on August 1, 1876 by 19 Stat. 61 Hallett 1877–1906 Lewis 1906–1921 Symes 1922–1950 Knous 1950–1959 Chilson 1960–1973 Matsch 1974–2003 Figa 2003–2008 Jackson 2011–2021 Sweeney 2022–present

Seat 2 Seat established on February 10, 1954 by 68 Stat. 8 Breitenstein 1954–1957 Arraj 1957–1976 Kane, Jr. 1977–1988 Babcock 1988–2008 Brimmer 2008–present

Seat 3 Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 Doyle 1961–1971 Finesilver 1971–1994 Daniel 1995–2013 Moore 2013–2023 Crews 2024–present

Seat 4 Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 Winner 1970–1982 Porfilio 1982–1985 Sparr 1990–2001 Krieger 2002–2019 Rodriguez 2021–present

Seat 5 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Carrigan 1979–1994 Miller 1996–2008 Arguello 2008–2022 Wang 2022–present

Seat 6 Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 Weinshienk 1979–1998 Blackburn 2002–2016 Domenico 2019–present

Seat 7 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Nottingham, Jr. 1989–2008 Martínez 2010–2023 Gallagher 2023–present

See also

• Courts of Colorado
• List of current United States district judges
• List of United States federal courthouses in Colorado

References

1. http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/courts_district_co.html U.S. District Courts of Colorado, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center
2. "Cole Finegan Sworn in as United States Attorney" (Press release). Denver, Colorado: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. December 1, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
3. "28 U.S.C. § 85 - U.S. Code Title 28. Judiciary and Judicial Procedure § 85". Findlaw.

External links

• United States District Court for the District of Colorado Official Website
• U.S. District Courts of Colorado, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center
• United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Official Website