Christopher J. Baumann

Christopher J. Baumann was appointed to the Denver District Court in January 2018 and has been its chief judge since 2022. He hears civil cases and presides over Statewide Grand Jury proceedings, search warrants and arrest warrants. Voters retained him in 2020 with 80.24 percent of the votes cast on the question: 250,434 yes and 61,672 no.

He joined the Denver office of the Colorado State Public Defender as an attorney in 2002 and became head of that office in 2010. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado and his law degree at Tulane University, and he has volunteered with Project Angel Heart.

The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance voted 10 to 0 that he meets performance standards. The commission met with the Denver District Attorney and a representative of the public defender's Denver office. Fifteen attorneys and 17 non-attorneys responded to its survey.

The commission "commends Judge Baumann for his alacrity in carrying out his administrative duties and his preparation as a jurist" and writes that his "written decisions are clear and thorough." It lists among his strengths "his ability to efficiently balance both his civil docket and duties as Chief Judge, his excellent courtroom demeanor, and treating all parties appearing in front of him with fairness and respect." The commission writes that it "did not identify any evaluation category in which Judge Baumann displayed a notable weakness as to the performance criteria" and reports that he "exceeded the Court’s productivity benchmark for civil courtrooms."