Several veteran judges and one longtime magistrate were named today as recipients of the Colorado Judicial Institute’s “judicial excellence” awards.
They include Denver County Judge Alfred Harrell and Arapahoe County District Judge Robert Russell.
Also named was District Judge Jon Kolomitz, who sits in the 16th Judicial District, which serves Bent, Crowley and Otero counties.
The fourth recipient is Magistrate Jane Westbrook, who sits in the 21st Judicial District or Mesa County.
Before beginning his career on the bench, Russell was a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force. He retired from the service in 1984, was appointed an Arapahoe County magistrate in 1985, an Arapahoe County Court judge in 1989 and named to the district-court bench in August 1998.
Russell has served as president of the Arapahoe County Bar Association and the Sam Cary Bar Association as well as vice president of the Colorado Bar Association.
The Colorado Judicial Institute, a 29-year-old nonpartisan, nonprofit citizens organization, said Russell is noted for his dedication to the justice system and his courtroom demeanor, exemplified by his “enthusiasm and remarkable discipline.”
Harrell was appointed to the Denver County Court bench in 1985. He is known “for his tireless service to the legal community and dedicated mentor to hundreds of young attorneys and law students,” said the institute.
“Judge Harrell has served on the board of trustees for the Attorney’s Fund for Client Protection, where he reviewed hundreds of claims made by clients who suffered financial damage due to dishonest conduct by attorneys,” said the institute.
Kolomitz was appointed to the 16th Judicial District Court bench in 1985. Kolomitz, a La Junta native, received his law degree from the University of Colorado and immediately joined the FBI.
Kolomitz has had a distinguished career, said the institute, and has shown “tenacity with difficult cases” and is “particularly patient with dependency and neglect cases.”
His community service includes serving on the La Junta School Board, the State Board of Nursing, the Otero County Child Protection Team and Koshare Indian Kiva Museum board of directors.
Westbrook was appointed a magistrate in the 21st Judicial District in 1992. She is described as “a brilliant jurist who is able to effectively manage her docket with firmness but more importantly with a purpose to improve and empower the lives of every family who enters her courtroom.”
The institute said Westbrook frequently makes presentations on the judicial branch and the judiciary to students and has participated as a mock-trial presiding judge.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
