Mayor Michael Hancock today announced the appointment of District Court Magistrate Judge David Blackett to the Denver County Court bench. His appointment will fill the vacancy created by the newly funded 19th Denver County Court Judge position.
“The Denver County Court has the most direct connection to our residents and their interaction with the judicial system. Magistrate Judge Blackett has more than shown through his judicial demeanor and temperament that he is determined to serve the public good in our city,” Mayor Hancock said in the Dec. 14 news release. “His work with youth, and the compassion he has exhibited in these cases, speaks especially to his character, reputation and the type of judge he will be on our county court, and I’m proud to appoint him to the bench.”
Blackett currently serves as a District Court Magistrate Judge for Colorado’s 17th Judicial District in Adams County. He manages a civil and criminal docket of primarily juvenile matters, child support and domestic relations and oversees the truancy problem-solving court, according to the release. During his time as District Court Magistrate Judge, a position he’s held since 2016, Blackett spearheaded changes within the 17th Judicial District, including earlier appointments of public defenders and revisions to the bond schedule, according to the Dec. 14 news release.
Prior to his role as a District Court Magistrate Judge, Blackett served in the Adams County District Attorney’s Office from 2008 to 2016, rising to Chief Trial Deputy. In this role, he supervised county court, the child victim unit, the juvenile unit, the human trafficking unit and was the District Attorney’s Office liaison to the Adams County Drug Court. From 1998 to 2008, Blackett served as a uniformed police officer with the Tucson Police Department in Tucson, Arizona, and was awarded a commendation for bravery by the Chief of Police.
“I have seen the application of the law from the streets as a police officer, the courtroom as a litigator and up to our highest trial courts as a Federal District Court law clerk, but more important is my value of those who appear in a courtroom,” Blackett said in the news release. “No matter their station in life, each person in front of me walked their own path and has value, and I’m honored to be appointed to the Denver County Court by Mayor Hancock and continue this service to the city I and my family call home.”
Blackett holds a J.D. from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. He was selected for the position over Michael Angel and Judy Estrada, the other finalists selected by Denver’s Judicial Nomination Commission.