Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright has appointed District Judge Christopher J. Baumann as chief judge of the Denver District Court. 

Baumann will become chief judge in September following the retirement of the Honorable Michael A. Martinez, who has served as chief judge since 2013, according to a news release from the Colorado Judicial Department. 

“I am confident (Baumann) has the characteristics necessary to be a successful leader and I look forward to working with him,” Boatright said in the news release. 

Baumann previously served as the office head and deputy state public defender for the State Public Defender’s Office in Denver. He also is a former member of the U.S. Army Reserves.

He joined the State Public Defender’s Office in 2002 and worked in Greeley and Arapahoe County before he was named the head of the Denver office in 2010. 

Baumann also has experience working as a staff attorney in the Supreme Court of Louisiana and as an assistant attorney general in the Civil Litigation/Employment Law Section, according to the release.