Colorado State Archives

Executive Orders from the Administration of Governor Bill Owens 1999-2005

DENVER – Governor Bill Owens today appointed Kirk Stewart Samelson district court judge in the 4^th Judicial District, which includes El Paso and Teller Counties. Samelson fills a vacancy occasioned by an additional position created by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor.

"Kirk Samelson’s extensive civil litigation background and his background with prosecuting drug and property crimes for the Air Force will serve the court well," said Gov. Owens. "His knowledge of both the civil and criminal justice systems will be a tremendous asset to the people of the 4^th J.D."

Kirk Samelson is a sole practitioner specializing in real estate, water law and business law. He has been a visiting professor of business law at Colorado College since 1993 and has also taught at Odessa Institute of Economics and Law in the Ukraine in 1997.

Samelson served in the United State Air Force from 1973 to 1983 during which time he prosecuted drug and property crimes at Lowry Air Force Base. He serves on the Professionalism and Medical-Legal committee of the El Paso County Bar Association, is a member of the 4^th J.D. Performance Commission, and is a Pikes Peak highway commissioner. Samelson received his juris doctorate from the University of Denver College of Law.

In recent years, court dockets have been over burdened with heavy caseloads. To address this problem and speed up the judicial process, the General Assembly with the Governor’s signature added one judgeship in the 18^th and 4^th Judicial Districts where much of the growth in Colorado’s population has occurred.

The annual salary for this position is $86,090. The initial term of office for a district court judge is a provisional term of two years, after which the incumbent must run for election to serve an additional six years.

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