Judge Ted C. Tow III will be the next chief judge of Colorado’s second-highest court, the judicial branch announced on Thursday.

Tow will succeed Chief Judge Gilbert M. Román on the Court of Appeals, who is completing a four-year term. A spokesperson said the fixed term will also apply to Tow.

“Chief Judge Román’s leadership as chief of the Colorado Court of Appeals has been marked by his integrity, intelligence, and commitment to justice. On behalf of the entire Colorado Supreme Court, I thank Chief Román for his years of exemplary leadership as chief,” said Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez in a statement announcing her appointment of Tow. “As we welcome Judge Ted Tow as the new Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, I am confident that his dedication, experience, commitment to judicial excellence, and his deep understanding of the law will serve the Court and our state well in the years ahead.” 

According to a recent workload study, the chief judge for the Court of Appeals spends more than seven hours per day, on average, with non-case-related activities. Those include court administration, managing conferences and meetings, and committee work. The chief judge also hears and decides appeals.

Tow has been an appellate judge since 2018. Prior to that, he was an Adams County trial judge. As an attorney, he was a prosecutor and the executive director of the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council.

Tow received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and his law degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.

“It is a privilege to be given the responsibility of leading the amazing team at the court of appeals, and I look forward to continuing the work of my tremendous predecessors in advancing the goals of access to justice and the rule of law,” said Tow in a statement.

Tow is a frequent speaker at legal events, giving presentations about how to respectfully address participants in court and about the mechanics of judicial appointments, among other topics.

“It is political with a small ‘p’ in the sense that there’s lobbying,” he said last year. “But it is not capital ‘P’ politics. There is none of that involved. And I very much appreciate that aspect.”

Voters most recently retained Tow in 2020. That year, the citizen-led performance commission praised his opinion-writing skills, and found he deploys “self-deprecating humor” and insightful questions at oral arguments. It also urged him to “remain mindful of the mechanical aspects of writing and to engage in a robust editing process.”

During Román’s tenure, the 22-member Court of Appeals experienced significant turnover. Six judges joined the court, and he ceremonially swore in four more who were appointed just before or during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. His term as chief will end on July 31.

The Court of Appeals issues approximately 1,700 opinions per year, only a small percentage of which are reviewed by the Supreme Court.