Maria Berkenkotter
Associate Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court
Assumed office
January 1, 2021
Appointed byJared Polis
Preceded byNathan B. Coats
Chief Judge of the 20th Judicial District Court of Colorado
In office
September 1, 2013 – October 31, 2017
Appointed byMichael L. Bender
Preceded byRoxanne Bailin
Succeeded byIngrid Bakke[1]
Judge of the 20th Judicial District Court of Colorado
In office
August 11, 2006 – October 31, 2017
Personal details
Born
Maria Encarnacion Berkenkotter[2]

1962 or 1963 (age 60–61)[3]
EducationWestern Michigan University (BA)
University of Denver (JD)

Maria Encarnacion Berkenkotter (born 1962 or 1963) is an American lawyer who has served an associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court since 2021.

Education

Berkenkotter received a Bachelor of Arts from Western Michigan University in 1984 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver College of Law in 1987.[4][5]

After graduating law school, she was an associate with Holmes & Starr from 1988 to 1990, she then served as an Assistant Attorney General with the Colorado Attorney General Regulatory Law and Consumer Protection Sections from 1990 to 2000, and then First Assistant Attorney General with the Colorado Attorney General Consumer Protection Section from 2000 to 2006. From 2018 to 2021 she was arbiter with the Judicial Arbiter Group, Inc.[5]

Judicial career

State court judicial service

Berkenkotter served as a district judge on Colorado's 20th Judicial District from 2006 to 2017.[5] She became Chief Judge on September 1, 2013[6] and retired on October 31, 2017.[1]

Notable case

In April 2016, Berkenkotter had received national attention when she sentenced 36 year-old Dynel Lane to 100 years in prison for cutting a baby from a woman's womb.[7][8]

Colorado Supreme Court

In May 2018, Berkenkotter was one of three candidates considered to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Chief Justice Nancy E. Rice.[9] In 2020, she was among three finalists for the Supreme Court.[2] On November 20, 2020, Governor Jared Polis announced Berkenkotter his appointment to the Colorado Supreme Court to replace Justice Nathan B. Coats who retired on January 1, 2021.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Bakke appointed Chief Judge of the 20th Judicial District" (Press release). Colorado Judicial Branch. September 15, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  2. 1 2 Paul, Jesse (November 20, 2020). "Maria Berkenkotter selected by Gov. Jared Polis as his first Colorado Supreme Court appointee". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  3. ↑ Davis, Robert (November 23, 2020). "Jared Polis names former Boulder County judge to Colorado Supreme Court". Washington Examiner. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Maria E Berkenkotter Judge Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Governor Polis Appoints Colorado Supreme Court Justice" (Press release). Denver, Colorado. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Hon. Maria Berkenkotter appointed 20th Judicial District chief judge" (PDF). Colorado Courts. June 13, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  7. ↑ Powell, Erin (April 29, 2016). "Woman sentenced to 100 years for cutting baby from womb". wkyc.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Woman gets 100 years for cutting baby from womb". FOX 11 Los Angeles. May 1, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  9. ↑ "3 judges nominated for Colorado Supreme Court vacancy". KUSA.com. May 16, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2020.


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