Brian D. Boatright

Brian D. Boatright was sworn in as Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court on November 21, 2011 and as Chief Justice on January 1, 2021.  He was appointed by Governor John Hickenlooper. Before joining the Supreme Court, Justice Boatright was a District Court Judge in the First Judicial District in Golden, Colorado. He was appointed to that position on June 16, 1999 by Governor Bill Owens. As a District Court Judge, Justice Boatright presided over civil, felony criminal, dependency and neglect, juvenile delinquency, and probate matters. These involved well over a hundred jury trials.

Before his appointment to the District Court, Justice Boatright served as a Deputy District Attorney in the First Judicial District for over nine years. During his tenure with the D.A.’s Office, he tried everything from first degree murder cases to third degree assault cases. Before being appointed as a Deputy D.A., Justice Boatright was in private practice for approximately a year and a half with the firm of Boatright and Ripp.

Justice Boatright was born in Golden, Colorado and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1980. He graduated from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri in 1984 and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver in 1988.

Justice Boatright is a member of the Colorado Bar Association and the First Judicial District Bar Association and has held several offices, including President of the First Judicial District Bar Association for 2000-2001. In addition, Justice Boatright has served on several boards and committees including the Juvenile Services Planning Committee, Children Youth Leadership Commission, Plain English Jury Instruction Committee, and the Lieutenant Governor’s Committee to Promote Adoptions.

He has been the Dean of the Advance New Judges Training, an annual training for all new judicial officers, since 2007. Justice Boatright was named Colorado CASA Judicial Officer of the Year for 2011.

Justice Boatright and his wife Kara have two children.