| Monica M. Márquez | |
|---|---|
| 96th Associate Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 10, 2010 |
|
| Appointed by | Bill Ritter |
| Preceded by | Mary Mullarkey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1969 (age 42–43) Austin, Texas |
| Domestic partner | Sheila Barthel |
| Alma mater | Stanford University, Yale Law School |
Monica Marie Márquez (born 1969) is a jurist and judge from the state of Colorado who serves as an associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. Previously a Deputy Colorado Attorney General, governor Bill Ritter appointed her to the supreme court in 2010 to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey.[1] She was sworn in on December 10, 2010.[2]
A native of Austin, Texas, Márquez grew up in Grand Junction, Colorado and graduated as valedictorian from Grand Junction High School in 1987.[3][4] She earned a bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 1991 before spending two years with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, working with at-risk children in Camden, New Jersey, and Philadelphia.[5] She then attended Yale Law School, earning a J.D. in 1997 and serving as an editor of the Yale Law Journal.[1] She went on to clerk for two federal judges: Michael Ponsor of the District of Massachusetts and David M. Ebel of the Tenth Circuit.[6] She then worked as an associate at Holme Roberts & Owen before joining the Colorado Attorney General's office in 2002.[6]
Márquez is a past president of the Colorado GLBT Bar Association and a board member of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association.[7] She also served as chairwoman of the Denver Mayor’s GLBT Commission.[7] Her father, Jose D.L. Márquez, was the first Latino judge of the Colorado Court of Appeals.[6]
On August 24, 2010, the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission selected Márquez as one of three candidates to replace Mary Mullarkey on the Colorado Supreme Court.[8] On September 8, 2010, Democratic Governor Bill Ritter announced Márquez as his choice to replace Mullarkey.[5] The appointment won praise from her former boss, Republican Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.[5]
Márquez is the first Latina and first openly gay person to serve on the Colorado Supreme Court.[1] Her long-term partner is Sheila Barthel.[2] She is one of six openly LGBT judges serving on state supreme courts, alongside justice Sabrina McKenna of the Hawaii Supreme Court, justice Barbara Lenk of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, justice Beth Robinson of the Vermont Supreme Court, and justices Rives Kistler and Virginia Linder, both members of the Oregon Supreme Court.