Michael Lee Bender (born January 7, 1942)
is an American attorney and jurist, who served as the 44th Chief Justice of the
Colorado Supreme Court.
Bender earned a B.A. from
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
in 1964 and a law degree from the
University of Colorado Law School in 1967.
[.] Prior to becoming a judge, he worked in private practice, for the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and as a
public defender
A public defender is a lawyer appointed to represent people who otherwise cannot reasonably afford to hire a lawyer to defend themselves in a trial. Several countries provide people with public defenders, including the UK, Hungary and Singapore, ...
in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
and
Jefferson County and for the state.
[.] Bender also taught criminal law, criminal trial advocacy, and employment discrimination law at 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 ...
.
Bender was first appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court January 2, 1997 by Governor
Roy Romer,
to a seat vacated by the retirement of
George E. Lohr.
He won
retention in 2010, despite opposition from conservative and Libertarian groups.
He was voted Chief Justice by his fellow justices in 2010, taking the position on December 1, 2010. He retired from the court on January 7, 2014.
Bender is a registered
Democrat
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 ...
.
He has five children with his wife,
Helen H. Hand, a psychologist who runs
Colorado Free University; the couple live in the
Stapleton development in Denver.
References
1942 births
Living people
Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court
American criminal defense lawyers
University of Denver faculty
Dartmouth College alumni
University of Colorado Law School alumni
Lawyers from Denver
Public defenders
Chief justices of the Colorado Supreme Court
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