Brian Boatright (born June 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and judge, who is the chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. He previously served as a judge on the Colorado District Court from 1999 to 2011.

Education and early career

Boatright was born in Golden, Colorado, and graduated from

Jefferson High School This is a list of memorials to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd president of the United States and the author of the United States Declaration of Independence. Buildings Elementary schools *Jefferson Elementary School, in Cammack Village, Arkansas *Thoma ...

in Edgewater, Colorado, in 1980. He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984 at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and received a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree in 1988 from the Sturm College of Law of the University of Denver. After a brief period in private practice, Boatright served from 1990 to 1999 as a deputy

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

in Colorado's 1st judicial district. This district covers two counties, Gilpin and Jefferson, which are immediately west of Denver and part of the

Denver metropolitan area Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson. The Denver r ...

Judicial service

In 1999, the Republican Governor of Colorado Bill Owens appointed Boatright as a state judge on the Colorado District Court for the 1st District. He was elected to new term on the court in a retention election in 2002 with 52% of the vote, and again in 2008 with 96% of the vote. Boatright oversaw more than 100 jury trials, and became known for his experience in

juvenile court A juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes that are committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal s ...

and family law. In 2011, Colorado Supreme Court justice

Alex J. Martinez Alex Joseph Martinez (born April 19, 1951) is an American attorney who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Colorado from 1996 to 2011. Born in Denver, Colorado, Martinez attended Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and Ree ...

announced that he would resign, effective from October 31, 2011. The Colorado Judicial Nominating Commission selected Boatright as one of three possible candidates to replace Martinez. The other two candidates were attorney Frederick Martinez and University of Colorado lawyer Patrick O'Rourke.

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Governor John Hickenlooper announced Boatright, a registered Republican, as his choice to replace Martinez on October 27, 2011. Boatright was sworn in as a member of the Colorado Supreme Court on November 21, 2011. He was re-elected to a new ten-year term in a retention election in November 2014, where he received 57% of the vote. Boatright's current term on the court expires on January 14, 2025. When Nathan B. Coats retired on January 1, 2021, Boatright succeeded him as chief justice.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Boatright, Brian 1962 births Living people 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court Colorado Republicans Colorado state court judges Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court People from Golden, Colorado Sturm College of Law alumni University of Denver alumni Westminster College (Missouri) alumni