Mary J. Mullarkey, the first female chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court and its longest-serving, has died at age 77.
Many of her former law clerks on Wednesday spoke of how the Chief, as they called her, was beloved and humble, even as she led the state s judicial system and held the power to shape the law through her written opinions in scores of cases. She never lost sight of the humanity of the participants. These weren t just litigants. They weren t just defendants. These were human beings, said Eileen Kiernan-Johnson, who worked for Mullarkey for eight years. There wasn t such a thing as a small case for her.
First female Colorado Supreme Court chief justice dies at 77 Michael.Karlik, Colorado Politics
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Mary J. Mullarkey, the first female chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court and its longest-serving, has died at age 77.
An appointee of Gov. Roy Romer to the High Court in 1987, she was only the second woman at the time to ever serve. She became the chief justice in 1998, and remained in that role until her retirement in 2010. Her tenure included several lasting accomplishments for the state s judiciary.
“She dedicated her wisdom, knowledge and compassion to improving our justice system in countless ways, from requiring safe places for children in all the state’s courthouses to making our state a leader in information technology for the courts, said Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright. Outside of her legal work, she also will be remembered for her decade-long effort to replace the old and inadequate seat.
Mary J. Mullarkey, the first female chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court and its longest-serving, has died at age 77.
Many of her former law clerks on Wednesday spoke of how the Chief, as they called her, was beloved and humble, even as she led the state s judicial system and held the power to shape the law through her written opinions in scores of cases. She never lost sight of the humanity of the participants. These weren t just litigants. They weren t just defendants. These were human beings, said Eileen Kiernan-Johnson, who worked for Mullarkey for eight years. There wasn t such a thing as a small case for her.