Colorado Solicitor General Allison Eid was named Wednesday by Gov. Bill Owens as the 95th person to serve as a justice on the Colorado Supreme Court, replacing Rebecca Kourlis, who announced her retirement in December.
Owens had said he hoped to appoint a conservative to replace Kourlis, who was considered one of the more conservative justices on the court.
“I did want to appoint a conservative and I’ve done so,” Owens said Wednesday. “I know Allison’s record because of her writings, because of the people I’ve talked to who worked with her.”
The initial term for a justice is two years, after which the incumbent must stand for retention to a 10-year term.
Eid, 41, was a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and a special assistant and speechwriter to then-U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett. Eid’s husband, Troy, served as the governor’s legal counsel and as executive director of the Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration.
Owens said Thomas sent him a letter recommending Eid.
“Allison did not vacillate because others disagreed. Rather, she engaged in constructive debate about very difficult matters, always looking for a way to solve the problem,” Thomas wrote.
Dan Recht, the former president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, expressed disappointment over Eid’s selection. “Ms. Eid was a law clerk for Clarence Thomas and seems to be cut from the same ultra-conservative cloth,” Recht said. “It is a shame that Gov. Owens seemingly picked the most conservative lawyer to appoint to our Colorado Supreme Court.”
But David Getches, dean of the University of Colorado School of Law, where Eid is a professor, praised Eid.
“Professor Eid combines the intellectual depth with a collegial spirit and will bring the right mix of intellectual rigor and humanity to cases before the court,” he said.
The Colorado Civil Justice League, composed primarily of lawyers representing businesses, also applauded the selection.
“Allison Eid has the credentials and experience to analyze not only legal issues in a case, but the real impact out-of-control litigation has on Colorado’s economy,” said Jeff Weist, the league’s executive director.
Eid noted that she and her sister were raised by a single mother and there was never much money. But she was able to obtain scholarships and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University and graduated with high honors from the University of Chicago Law School. She praised her mother, Jaynee Hartwell, who she said raised her with “grace, good humor and determination” and sacrifice.
She said she was constantly exposed to the values of hard work, honesty, family, faith and the willingness to help others.
“It is these values I hope to bring to my work on the court,” she said.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
