colorado supreme court nominees announced

​The nominees for the vacant seat on the Colorado Supreme Court have been named. One of the 3 nominees will replace Justice Coates who retires in January. A county court judge job in Arapahoe County is also being filled.
 
We don’t know how many applicants applied, or who those applicants were, because the judicial nomination process is not transparent.
 
If you know any of the nominees, or have an opinion, you’re encouraged to email the governor at [email protected] using the subject line “Colorado Supreme Court vacancy” or “Arapahoe County Court vacancy.”
 
The nominees for the Colorado Supreme Court are:
 
Maria Berkenkotter – currently a professional mediator, or arbiter, with Judicial Arbiter Group in Denver. She’s also a “judicial coach” for the Colorado Judicial Department, whatever that means. Previously, she was a district court judge for the 20th Judicial District (Boulder County). She was also an assistant attorney general in Colorado and worked as a lawyer at a law firm, Holmes and Starr, P.C. She received her college degree from Western Michigan University in 1984 and her law degree from DU in 1987.
 
Timothy Macdonald – currently a lawyer at Arnold & Porter, an international law firm. He specializes in civil litigation. Previously, he was a law clerk for Judge Emilio Garza on the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. He received his college degree from Miami University in 1992 and his law degree from the University of Michigan in 1996.
 
Andrea Wang – currently an assistant U.S. attorney in Colorado where she focuses on civil litigation where the government is the plaintiff. Previously, she worked as a lawyer for Davis, Graham & Stubbs, a large Denver law firm with international connections. She also clerked for former Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey on the Colorado Supreme Court. She received her college degree from McGill University (Canada) in 1994 and her law degree from CU in 2001.

The nominees for the Arapahoe County Court position are:
 
Melina Hernandez – currently a part-time magistrate in Denver Juvenile Court and a bilingual family court facilitator in Denver District Court. Previously, she was a domestic law clerk for Judge William Hood in Denver before he was appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court. She also was a research fellow for Judge Christopher Cross in the 18th Judicial District (Arapahoe, Elbert, Lincoln and Douglas counties). She was also a fellow for the DU group Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System. She received her college degree from CU in 2007 and her law degree from DU in 2011.
 
Phelicia Kossie-Butler – currently a county court magistrate in the 17th Judicial District (Adams and Broomfield counties). Previously, she worked as a lawyer for Bayer & Carey, an insurance defense firm in Denver, and her own firm. She worked as a public defender from 2003 to 2011. She received her college degree from Southern Methodist University (Texas) in 2000 and her law degree form St. Mary’s University (Texas) in 2003.
 
Joseph Whitfield – currently a deputy district attorney in the 18th Judicial District (Arapahoe, Elbert, Lincoln and Douglas counties). He received his college degree from Occidental College (California) in 1998 and his law degree from Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) in 2010.

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