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Governor appoints Colorado's first openly gay district judge

April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 18, 2007 at midnight

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David Brett Woods will become Colorado's first openly gay district court judge.

Though one liberal-leaning blog, coloradopols.com, reported that Woods is the first openly gay district court judge and views his accomplishment as an important milestone, Woods said Monday his sexual orientation shouldn't matter, and it won't influence his decisions on the bench.

"To me, it's not particularly news," Woods said. "It's never been an issue before. It's not going to be an issue. I follow the law."

While Woods becomes the first openly gay male appointed to the district court, he's not the first openly gay judge in Colorado. Denver County Court Judge Mary Celeste became the first openly gay judge in 2000.

The International Association of Gay and Lesbian Judges estimates there are 75 to 100 openly gay and lesbian judges in the country.

Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter announced Monday the appointment of Woods and Donna Jean Schmalberger as new Denver District Juvenile Court judges. Evan Dreyer, spokesman for Ritter, said Woods and Schmalberger were selected because they're the best candidates for the job.

Both are replacing two long-time juvenile court judges who had a collective 60 years of experience on the job, Dreyer said.

"Gov. Ritter selected them because he was impressed with their backgrounds and their commitment to the criminal justice system," he said.

Woods, a former prosecutor, has served as a relief judge in the Aurora Municipal Court since 2006, and as a magistrate in Denver County Court since 2001. He also worked for 10 months as a magistrate in Denver District Juvenile Court.

Ritter signed into law last spring a measure that bans employers from discriminating based on an employee's sexual orientation.

And a GOP lawmaker who opposed passage of that law supported Ritter's decision to pick the best candidate for the district court job.

"From the point of public policy, all I care about is how he (Woods) rules from the bench," said Sen. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch.

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