Three finalists named to become new Colorado Supreme Court justice
A state commission this week named three finalists to replace former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart, who retired in January.
The finalists selected by the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission are Susan Blanco of Fort Collins, Andrea S. Wang of Denver, and Christopher Clayton Zenisek of Golden. Colorado Governor Jared Polis has 15 days from Tuesday, when the finalists were announced, to appoint a new justice.
Blanco is the chief judge of the state’s 8th Judicial District, which includes Larimer and Jackson counties. She also chairs two committees to the Colorado Supreme Court: the Pathways to Access Committee and the Information Technology Committee.
The 8th District, under Blanco’s leadership, was the first in the state to launch a “competency docket” program to help connect people accused of crimes with mental health services if they cannot contribute to their own defense or understand the court proceedings they are going through. Other districts picked up the program after seeing its success in the 8th District.
Blanco has studied at Duke University, the University of Colorado Law School, and Colorado State University.
Wang is the deputy solicitor general at the Colorado attorney general’s office and was previously nominated for the state Supreme Court. She served as a deputy and assistant U.S. attorney in Colorado and left the office last January, according to her LinkedIn.
Wang attended McGill University and the University of Colorado Law School.
Zenisek is a district court judge in the state’s 1st Judicial District, which is based in Jefferson County. He was appointed to that role in 2011 to replace Brian Boatright when Boatright was appointed to the state Supreme Court.
Zenisek was set to oversee a jury trial in a lawsuit against Xcel Energy after the Marshall Fire, but the case ended in a settlement before the trial started. He also presided over cases involving a group of teenagers who killed 20-year-old Alexa Bartell in 2023 when they threw a rock through her windshield.
He studied at the University of Colorado and the University of Denver.
