Dana Nichols

Dana Nichols was appointed to the Weld County Court in 2007. She is assigned to Division 9, where she hears all types of county court cases, including civil disputes, domestic violence and DUI cases, and presides over the Competency Court docket. Voters retained her in 2022 with 68.37 percent of the votes cast on the question: 66,123 yes and 30,597 no.

Before her appointment she spent nearly ten years as a deputy public defender in the Greeley, Pueblo and Colorado Springs trial offices and the appellate division, and three years in private civil practice in Denver with Kennedy & Christopher, P.C. She holds a law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law and an undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Colorado State University. She is a past president of the County Court Judges Association, has written chapters for the Colorado DUI Bench book and serves on the board of North Range Behavioral Health.

The Nineteenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance voted 8 to 0 that she meets performance standards, with two commissioners absent. Of the attorneys responding to its survey, 78 percent found that she meets performance standards, as did 88 percent of the non-attorneys. The commission reviewed a transcript, a court order and an appellate order on one of her decisions.

The commission writes that she "received notable remarks for her demeanor on the bench and communication." It "notes feedback suggesting Judge Nichols needs improvement in her legal knowledge, specifically ensuring her opinions are supported by the appropriate legal authority." Judge Nichols was "receptive to this feedback," the commission reports, and acknowledged that she needs to balance plain language with support from legal authority.

The commission credits her as "a leader in the formation of a specialized Competency Court docket to help address mental health issues in County Court."