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
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
from
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...
in 1984 and 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 ...
from the
University of Denver College of Law
The Sturm College of Law ("Denver Law") is the professional graduate law school of the University of Denver. It is one of two law schools in the state of Colorado. Founded in 1892, the Sturm College of Law was one of the first in America's Mounta ...
in 1987.
Legal career
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.
Judicial career
State court judicial service
Berkenkotter served as a district judge on Colorado's 20th Judicial District from 2006 to 2017.
She became Chief Judge on September 1, 2013 and retired on October 31, 2017.
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.
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
Nancy E. Rice (born June 2, 1950) is the former Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court.
Life and education
Rice was born on June 2, 1950 in Boulder, Colorado, and grew up in Colorado and Cheyenne, Wyoming. She received her Bachelor of Art ...
.
In 2020, she was among three finalists for the Supreme Court.
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.
References
External links
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Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
1960s births
Living people
20th-century American lawyers
21st-century American judges
21st-century American lawyers
20th-century American women lawyers
Colorado lawyers
Colorado state court judges
Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court
University of Colorado Law School alumni
Western Michigan University alumni
21st-century American women judges
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