Commission accepting nominees for new Boulder County judge

A Boulder County commission is accepting applications to replace Judge Kristy Martinez, who died in late February.

The 20th Judicial District Nomination Commission has 30 days from the date of the vacancy to interview and select nominees. Those names will then be sent to Gov. Jared Polis.

The applicant who is chosen by the governor must be a registered voter in Boulder County at the time of their appointment. Applicants must also be admitted to the practice of law in Colorado.

The annual salary for the position is $175,908, according to a news release from the Colorado Judicial Department. The initial term of office for a county judge is a provisional two years, and the judge must run for election. If approved by voters, the judge has a term of four years.

The deadline for applications is 4 p.m. Friday, and the seven-member nomination committee is scheduled to meet March 22 at the Boulder County Justice Center to interview and select nominees.

Judge Martinez, who died Feb. 21 of an unspecified illness, served as the first full-time director of the University of Colorado Law School’s Korey Wise Innocence Project. She was appointed in 2019 to serve in Boulder County Court, and the same year, University of Colorado Law awarded her the honorary Order of the Coif for her contributions to the legal profession. 

In a tribute posted after her death, the university said Judge Martinez was known for “her integrity, fairness and commitment to justice.”

“She presided over cases with a deep sense of compassion and respect for all those who appeared before her,” the tribute read. “As a law professor and the first director of the Korey Wise Innocense Project, she fought tirelessly for the rights of the wrongfully convicted and to serve as an extraordinary teacher and mentor to the many students she impacted.”