‘More than a symbol’: Western Slope’s Gordon Gallagher ceremonially sworn in to federal judgeship

In little over two years since taking office, President Joe Biden has made multiple historic appointments to Colorado’s federal trial court, selecting the first openly gay judge and the first Asian American judge, for example.

But Biden opted for a different kind of diversity when he installed the most recent member of the U.S. District Court, Gordon P. Gallagher.

Gallagher is the first federal district judge in Colorado’s history to be stationed outside of Denver – a distinction he bears proudly.

“We do come to our life and work with the experiences of where we live and what we do and who we’re around on a daily basis. And that informs how we approach a myriad of issues,” said Gallagher on Friday, during his ceremonial swearing-in at the Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse in downtown Denver.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Gallagher to a lifetime appointment on the seven-member trial court in March. On July 28, Gallagher hosted his formal swearing-in, known as an investiture. Due to Gallagher’s residence in Mesa County, the event featured an unusual twist: a video feed transmitted to the federal courthouse in Grand Junction, where Western Slope attendees watched remotely.

Gallagher, 53 this year, moved to Grand Junction in 1997 and initially worked as a prosecutor with the district attorney’s office. He then entered private practice as a defense lawyer. In 2012, the judges of the federal district court appointed him as a part-time magistrate judge in Grand Junction to assist with the workload of the court. He held the dual roles of federal judge and state-level defense attorney until this year.

Daniel P. Rubinstein, the Republican district attorney for Mesa County, praised Biden and U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper – all Democrats – for their role in appointing Gallagher to a district judgeship.

“You knocked this one out of the park,” he said during the ceremony. In addition to the geographic diversity Gallagher provides, Rubinstein also noted the relative rarity of federal judges with Gallagher’s professional background.

“Very few of them have represented indigent clients on the ADC list,” Rubinstein said, referring to the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel. ADC lawyers represent criminal defendants when the Colorado public defender’s office has a conflict.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Gordon P. Gallagher appears before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Dec. 13, 2022 for his confirmation hearing.

Gallagher succeeded U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez, a Barack Obama appointee. Biden’s appointees now make up the majority of the court and there is one vacancy. The nominee for that seat, U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews, has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee, but he has not received a vote in the full Senate. A gaffe during his committee hearing likely means he will receive no Republican support in any confirmation vote.

Gallagher’s confirmation, in contrast, was relatively smooth. Senators heard from multiple voices on the Western Slope, including the chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, who argued in favor of adding Gallagher’s perspective to the federal bench as a representative of rural Colorado.

“It’s more than a symbol to have this court now represented by someone from the Western Slope,” said Bennet at Gallagher’s investiture. “It’s a recognition that for too long, people in that part of Colorado felt they were in a very profound sense left behind, not least of which are the tribes.”

Bennet added that Gallagher’s familiarity with public lands, natural resources and tribal matters would be an asset when hearing federal cases. He also disclosed that Gallagher’s son, Noah, is a member of his staff but plans to leave for law school. Hickenlooper appeared in a brief, recorded video message to give his congratulations.

Attendees learned that Gallagher is an outdoor enthusiast whose work took him along the entirety of the Western Slope.

“You may be able to imagine how difficult it is to have the respect of law enforcement, like Gordon had as a district court magistrate, while simultaneously acting as a criminal defense attorney in that same jurisdiction,” said Rubinstein. “But he did it because he has such professionalism.”

U.S. District Court Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer praised Gallagher as “the face of the court, in large part, on the Western Slope for a long time.” He also referenced Gallagher’s efforts to process cases from self-represented, often incarcerated, litigants.

Gallagher thanked the other judges for permitting him to remain “embedded in my community” by working largely out of Grand Junction.

“In this job, we are and must be constrained by the law, by precedent and the facts of the case before us,” he said. “But we also have many opportunities to consider what is fair and right and just, and what will continue to promote equal justice under the law and – I think – respect for the court as an institution and co-equal branch of government.”

In attendance at the Denver courthouse were the majority of current magistrate judges and multiple retired magistrate judges; Chief Judge Jerome A. Holmes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit; Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright, and Justices Monica M. Márquez and Richard L. Gabriel; U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan; and Federal Public Defender Virginia L. Grady.

Afterward, there was a reception at the 10th Circuit’s courthouse, which Gallagher paid for himself.

The program for the formal swearing-in ceremony of U.S. District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher on July 28, 2023.

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