Susan Blanco named new Colorado Supreme Court justice

Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday named Larimer County Chief Judge Susan Blanco as the newest Colorado Supreme Court justice.

The appointment fills an empty spot on the seven-member court left by the departure of Justice Melissa Hart, who retired Jan. 5 after taking a months-long personal leave that began in late October.

Blanco, chief judge of Larimer and Jackson counties, has served as a district court judge for nine years. A Colorado State University, University of Colorado and Duke Law School graduate, Blanco previously worked as a criminal defense attorney and as an attorney representing children in dependency and neglect proceedings, work she said was “deeply meaningful” and allowed her to see firsthand the impact of court decisions, she wrote in her application.

“I step into this role humbled by the weight of the responsibility and inspired by the promise of our democracy,” Blanco said during a news conference Tuesday. “The law is not an abstraction. It is the shield that protects the vulnerable, the guardrails that restrain power, and the enduring promise that justice does not depend on who you are, where you come from or what resources you have.”

Polis cited Blanco’s “strong track record of innovation” as one of the traits that set her apart from other applicants for the job.

“I was looking for somebody who would be a strong operator, somebody who showed an interest, yes, of course, in the judicial work of writing decisions and making decisions, but went above and beyond that,” Polis told reporters.

Blanco has, for the last half-decade, served as the chief judge for Larimer and Jackson counties, where she co-founded a special competency court designed to support defendants who are mentally ill or mentally disabled.

The daughter of Iranian immigrants, Blanco wrote in her application that the courts’ handling of her parents’ divorce and custody case when she was a child still impacts her approach on the bench.

“Ultimately, the court awarded my father all marital assets while granting my mother custody. My childhood was split between scarcity during the week and privilege on weekends,” she wrote. “This decision shaped my identity as a jurist, deepening my respect for the law and the courts’ power to shape lives.”