Date of Judicial Appointment: September 12, 1996

Alex J. Martinez became a Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court in January of 1997. He was nominated by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission and appointed by Governor Roy Romer. In November of 2000, he was retained by the voters for a ten-year term.

Justice Martinez began his legal career as a Deputy State Public Defender in Denver in 1976. In 1979, Martinez went to Pueblo, Colorado to supervise the Pueblo Office of the State Public Defender. In 1983, Martinez was appointed County Court Judge for Pueblo County Court by Governor Richard Lamm. In 1988, Governor Roy Romer appointed County Judge Alex J. Martinez to the District Court in the Tenth Judicial District.

Martinez has received honors and awards, including: William Lee Knous Award, Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement, and Honorary Order of the Coif, all from the University of Colorado School of Law; Pioneer In the Hispanic Community from the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association.

Martinez is on the Board of Trustees of Reed College, Portland, Oregon and the Board of Directors of Servicios de la Raza.  He has also served on and chaired many judicial committees during his long career as a judicial officer.

A Denver native, Martinez attended Phillips Exeter Academy, New Hampshire, 1966-69, and Reed College, Portland, Oregon, 1969-1972. He received a B.A. from the University of Colorado, 1973, and a J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law, 1976. Martinez and his wife, Kathy, have two daughters, Julia and Maggie.