Litigation

First Latina, Openly Gay Justice Named in CO

By Peter Hardin

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, has named Monica Marquez to the state Supreme Court. She will become its first Latina and openly gay justice.

Currently deputy attorney general, Marquez has not served as a judge, according to a Denver Post article. Ritter said he selected her after reviewing her legal scholarship and gaining certainty during an interview with Marquez that she would respect the rule of law.

A Denver Post editorial called her selection a “wise choice.” It said, “What’s most imperative is that Marquez has the tools and intelligence to adhere to the Constitution and show deference to the law.”

But Matt Arnold, director of Clear the Bench Colorado, wrote in People’s Press Collective about Ritter, “His apparent decision to knuckle under to special interests…is disappointing.” Arnold’s group has been seeking to unseat several justices in retention elections this year.

Full post as published by The Gavel on September 10, 2010 (boomark / email).