U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado is a United States district court, a federal trial court where most federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. It lies within the Tenth Circuit, which reviews its decisions on appeal. This page lists every judge to serve on the court, current and former, with who appointed them and whom they succeeded.
| Judge | Appointed by | Since |
|---|---|---|
| John L. Kane Jr. | Carter (D) | 1977 |
| Lewis Thornton Babcock | Reagan (R) | 1988 |
| Robert E. Blackburn | Bush (R) | 2002 |
| Marcia S. Krieger | Bush (R) | 2002 |
| Christine M. Arguello | Bush (R) | 2008 |
| Philip A. Brimmer | Bush (R) | 2008 |
| William Joseph Martinez | Obama (D) | 2010 |
| Richard Brooke Jackson | Obama (D) | 2011 |
| Raymond Paul Moore | Obama (D) | 2013 |
| Daniel Desmond Domenico | Trump (R) | 2019 |
| Regina Marie Rodriguez | Biden (D) | 2021 |
| Charlotte Noelle Sweeney | Biden (D) | 2022 |
| Nina Nin-Yuen Wang | Biden (D) | 2022 |
| Gordon Paul Gallagher | Biden (D) | 2023 |
| S. Kato Crews | Biden (D) | 2024 |
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Phillip S. Figa | Bush (R) | 2003–2008 |
| Walker David Miller | Clinton (D) | 1996–2013 |
| Wiley Young Daniel | Clinton (D) | 1995–2019 |
| Daniel B. Sparr | Bush (R) | 1990–2006 |
| Edward Willis Nottingham Jr. | Bush (R) | 1989–2008 |
| John Carbone Porfilio | Reagan (R) | 1982–1985 |
| James R. Carrigan | Carter (D) | 1979–1995 |
| Zita Leeson Weinshienk | Carter (D) | 1979–2011 |
| Richard Paul Matsch | Nixon (R) | 1974–2019 |
| Sherman Glenn Finesilver | Nixon (R) | 1971–1994 |
| Fred M. Winner | Nixon (R) | 1970–1984 |
| William Edward Doyle | Kennedy (D) | 1961–1971 |
| Olin Hatfield Chilson | Eisenhower (R) | 1960–1991 |
| Alfred Albert Arraj | Eisenhower (R) | 1957–1992 |
| Jean Sala Breitenstein | Eisenhower (R) | 1954–1957 |
| William Lee Knous | Truman (D) | 1950–1959 |
| John Foster Symes | Harding (R) | 1922–1951 |
| Robert E. Lewis | Roosevelt (R) | 1906–1921 |
| Moses Hallett | Grant (R) | 1877–1906 |
How a judge gets here. Each judge is nominated by a president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, then holds a numbered seat, for life, until they take senior status, or until they leave the bench. Open any judge to see who appointed them, how the Senate voted, and whom they succeeded, a chain that runs back to 1877.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory. Data last verified 2026-06-28. Verify against the primary source before relying.