Posted on Jan 22, 2025
On Wednesday, 22 January 2025, our Club will welcome Colorado 8th Judicial District Judge Juan Villasenor to the podium.   Judge Villasenor will discuss the history of the jury in the courts.  But in particular, he will focus on the jury reform movement of the 1990’s that ensued as a result of the OJ Simpson trial.  He will finish by discussing jury practices that are unique to Colorado.  Judge Villasenor wishes to give everyone a better appreciation for the judicial system and for the work of the jury.  

 
The 8th judicial district is one of 20 district courts in Colorado.  It hears cases in Jackson and Larimer Counties.  District Courts hear civil cases in any dollar amount, as well as domestic relations, criminal, juvenile, probate, and mental health cases. District court decisions may be appealed to the Colorado Court of Appeals and in some cases directly to the Colorado Supreme Court.  In 2021, the 8th District introduced a new competency docket, the first of it’s kind in Colorado.  Litigants are encouraged to participate in Alternative Dispute Resolution and early Neutral Assessment programs.
 
Judge Juan G. Villaseñor was appointed as a District Judge by Governor Hickenlooper in 2018.  He is one of nine judges in the 8th District.  Before his appointment, Judge Villaseñor was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Colorado. There, he investigated and prosecuted civil claims and criminal matters. He also represented federal agencies and employees in a wide variety of defensive cases. Between 2014 and 2016, Judge Villaseñor was detailed to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney. Prior to become a federal prosecutor, Judge Villaseñor was an Assistant Attorney General in Tennessee. At the beginning of his career, he was the Justice William J. Brennan First Amendment Fellowship Attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union in New York and a law clerk to U.S. District Judge William J. Haynes, Jr., in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Judge Villaseñor earned his A.B. from St. John’s College, his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and an LL.M. in Judicial Studies from Duke University School of Law.