Judith Smith

Judith Smith was appointed to the Denver County Court in September 2018. Voters retained her in 2022 with 79.22 percent of the votes cast on the question: 152,738 yes and 40,071 no. She serves on the court's committees for information technology, judicial retention and the appeals index.

She began in private practice with a global law firm and clerked for a federal judge in the 10th Circuit. She then prosecuted juvenile cases as a Denver deputy district attorney and spent 14 years as an assistant United States attorney for the District of Colorado, where she led the special prosecutions section and established the cybercrime and national security section. She earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master of Laws degree from Columbia Law School.

The Denver County Court Commission on Judicial Performance voted 5 to 0 that she meets performance standards.

The commission writes that Judge Smith "is upbeat and approachable and creates a positive and cordial atmosphere in her courtroom" and calls her "a true problem solver". It reports that she "uses plain language, shows empathy and ensures that everyone has the opportunity to be heard" and that she "takes the time to ensure that people in her courtroom understand the reasoning behind her decisions." The commission calls her "a legal scholar" whom colleagues often seek out for advice. It writes that she "was instrumental in the court’s recent transition to a comprehensive web-based system that increases efficiency across the court, allows for real-time note entry and reduces the use of paper."