Be You My Path to the District Court, 0618 COBJ, Vol. 47, No. 6 Pg. 22

AuthorLANCE PHILLIP TIMBREZA, J.
PositionVol. 47, 6 [Page 22]

47 Colo.Law. 22

Be You My Path to the District Court

Vol. 47, No. 6 [Page 22]

The Colorado Lawyer

June, 2018

My Path to the District Court

LANCE PHILLIP TIMBREZA, J.

YOU BE THE JUDGE

This series explores what it means to be a judge or justice at various levels of the state court system. Authors share their personal journey to the bench and help others navigate their way to a judgeship.

For about two years now, it has been my privilege to serve as a district court judge in the 21st Judicial District (Mesa County) in Grand Junction. In this article, I describe my journey to the bench, how I successfully navigated the application process, and the day-to-day work of a Colorado district court judge.

Forging a Path

I come from a coal-mining family. When I was 13 years old, my father’s company did a profile about a day in the life of an underground coal miner. At the time, he said, “Funny thing is, when I became a coal miner my dad was proud. I hope my son goes to college so he’ll have a wider choice of job opportunities.” My dad still works in that same coal mine, in the small Western Colorado town of Somerset. It is the same town where my grandfather, great-grandfather, and cousins have all worked in the coal mines. And it is the town where my grandmother was born.

I was born and raised in nearby Delta. My parents divorced twice during my childhood: once when I was 10 and a final time when I was 16. Growing up, I was often left to care for my sister, whom my parents adopted when I was 7 years old. Like many families, we lived paycheck to paycheck and, at times, even that fell short. I got my first job at age 10 working as a busboy, often alongside my mom, who was a waitress. This allowed me to support my sister and me—I could buy our school supplies, school clothes, school lunches, and dinners. I continued to work at the restaurant and a local radio station on weekends and weekday evenings all through middle school and high school. A steady income also allowed me to put myself through college and law school.

Although I was the first in my family to attend college and law school, my exposure to the law came early. As it happened, my step-grandfather was a court reporter for the district court judge in Delta, and he would take me to work with him when I was just a boy. I loved to watch the process and the players—the judge, witnesses, and attorneys. I was always struck by decisions the judge made that impacted people’s lives, whether i t involved disputes about parenting issues in divorce cases, business deals gone awry, or convicted criminals being sentenced. I knew I wanted...

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