Susan Prose and Kathryn Starnella, two attorneys with the top federal and state prosecutors’ offices in Colorado, will be the next judges to serve on the federal trial court based in Denver.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on Monday announced that the two women have been appointed as magistrate judges. A merit selection panel reviewed applications for the positions, but the presidentially-appointed, U.S. Senate-confirmed district judges of the court made the ultimate hiring decision.

Prose currently works at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the civil division, and Starnella is an employee of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, also handling civil litigation.

“We are pleased that Susan Prose is being recognized for her excellent career in public service and her equally excellent legal work,” said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan.

“Kathryn Starnella is a dedicated public servant and a leader in the Colorado legal community. During her time at the Department of Law, she has served as a thoughtful and effective lawyer, representing the state in some of our most complex cases,” added Attorney General Phil Weiser.

There are seven life-tenured, active district judges on Colorado’s federal trial court who collectively hire magistrate judges to assist with the workload of the court. Although magistrate judges tend to focus on preliminary and administrative matters in cases, they are also capable of nearly all responsibilities of their district counterparts – including presiding over civil cases on their own.

The district court has undergone drastic personnel changes in the past two years. President Joe Biden has appointed three new district judges since taking office, and two more vacancies are planned to arise next year. One new magistrate judge, Maritza Dominguez Braswell, joined the court earlier this year, and the latest announcement brings the number of new magistrate judges to three.

Prose will succeed U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang, who became the first magistrate judge in Colorado’s history to be confirmed to a lifetime appointment. Starnella will not take the bench until later in 2023, following the retirement of U.S. Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix next August.

Both of the new magistrate judges, plus Dominguez Braswell, come from a professional background of defending the government against lawsuits. For Prose and Starnella, that included representing the government in the claims of prisoners who alleged violations of their legal rights.

Recently, Prose appeared opposite Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man convicted for killing four people in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing, who alleges the United States Penitentiary-Administrative Maximum facility in Florence is unconstitutionally subjecting him to certain inmate restrictions. Prose is also representing the Federal Bureau of Prisons amid allegations the Florence “supermax” prison is infringing on the religious exercise of a Muslim man involved in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.

Jason R. Dunn, Colorado’s U.S. attorney during the Trump administration, called Prose “kind” and praised her “force of personality.” He recalled seeing Prose at the supermax facility while she was there to negotiate a settlement with a high-profile detainee, and witnessed her interactions with the corrections personnel.

“I happen to see Susan in the hallway as several prison guards stopped to not only say hi, but give Susan a hug,” Dunn said. “She didn’t work there and was only there occasionally, but she is that down to earth and has that kind of effect on every person she interacts with.”

David Lane, a civil rights attorney, likewise described Prose as intelligent and professional.

“She really was interested in seeking justice and I’m hopeful this will carry over in her new role as a magistrate judge,” he said.

Prose was also a finalist for a judgeship on Colorado’s Court of Appeals in 2019.

Starnella is the past president of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association and the 2022-2023 president of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association. As CWBA president, she wrote in an introductory letter that she is the daughter of a mother from the island of Trinidad and a father from Uruguay. She also advocated for diversity and equity in the legal profession, arguing specifically that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year overturning federal protection of abortion rights “calls upon us to fight to preserve and strengthen what remains of our right to bodily integrity.”

Starnella served as a clerk for U.S. District Court Senior Judge Christine M. Arguello and was special counsel for the firm Wells, Anderson & Race, where she handled cases involving insurance defense and product liability. Prior to that, she worked for the attorney general’s office, defending the Colorado Department of Corrections against prisoners’ civil and constitutional rights claims, among other subject areas.

“She has mentored and advocated for the advancement of many minority lawyers, including myself,” said Carlos R. Romo, president of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association. “Kathryn will be a fantastic magistrate judge as she brings the right temperament and experience to the court.”

Full-time magistrate judges serve for eight-year terms, subject to reappointment. Both women will need to pass a background check before joining the bench.