CHBA mourns the loss of 20th Judicial District Judge Kristy Martinez. Judge Martinez will be greatly missed both on the bench and within our community. CHBA shares here a statement from 20th Judicial District Chief Judge Ingrid Bakke:
All, it saddens me to report that our friend and colleague, Boulder County Court Judge Kristy Martinez, passed away yesterday surrounded by her loved ones, including her daughter, Bella, and her mother, Sally. Those of you who knew Judge Martinez understand what a special person she was and how she had an extraordinary gift for making everyone around her feel heard, seen, and valued. Judge Martinez was passionate about many things, including the law and being an excellent judge, but most of all she was passionate about her family.
Judge Martinez was appointed to the Boulder County Court in January 2019. Prior to her appointment, she was the Director of the Korey Wise Innocence Project at the University of Colorado Law School, where she taught post-conviction litigation, wrongful conviction, negotiation, and educational policy. Before working at CU Law, she worked in private practice focusing on criminal defense at the trial, appellate, and post-conviction levels. Judge Martinez, who was a graduate of the University of Denver College of Law, began her career as a Deputy District Attorney in Adams County.
I leave you with the poignant words of Chief Judge Ingrid Bakke of the Twentieth J.D., as she shared this sad news with her district:
For the last several weeks our friend Judge Martinez had been contemplating who her spirit animal was. She found comfort in the notion that it was a fox. With that, we all often saw foxes in her yard and under her window these last couple of weeks. We knew one day they would take her with them and this morning she did go with them.
She could not have felt more loved and supported from all of you.
Judge Martinez’s passing is a huge loss for the Twentieth J.D., the branch, and for the legal profession. She will be greatly missed.