Grand Junction has made a lot of legal impressions over the years, including legal cases and their outcomes, which have become precedent for everyone in the Rocky Mountain state. However, things took a whole new turn when the city also had one of its own become a State Supreme Court Justice.
A Long History Rooted in Town
Monica Marquez, a longstanding native and resident of Grand Junction, Colorado, currently serves as one of its esteemed Supreme Court justices. At 54 years old, Justice Marquez boasts an extensive legal career, spanning over 13 years as a judge and several decades as an attorney before assuming the bench.
Justice Marquez possesses a diverse and broad perspective. Despite hailing from Grand Junction, she has also lived overseas in Europe and contributed her time to the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Her legal education at Yale significantly shaped her expertise, which seamlessly transitioned into her courtroom success and eventual career as a judge. Throughout her journey, Justice Marquez has maintained a strong connection to her Grand Junction origins and background.
In Her Father’s Footsteps
Law has been a family experience as well. Justice Marquez’s father was an attorney in Grand Junction in the 1970s, providing rural legal help daily. In his footsteps, Justice Marquez graduated from the local Grand Junction high school in the late 1980s and then attended Stanford for her bachelor’s. The experience, as well as exchange student time in Germany, prepared Justice Marquez for her legal pursuits. Ironically, she didn’t want to be an attorney at first, but life and fate decided otherwise. Reflecting on her current position in the State Supreme Court, Justice Marquez now plays a pivotal role in advocating for the legal system, despite her initial reluctance to be a part of it. The cause for concern is heightened now more than ever, compared to when Justice Marquez was young and uninterested in pursuing a path similar to her father’s, primarily due to increased distrust in legal institutions.
Role Reversal for the Public
As a Grand Junction lawyer and judge, Justice Marquez now finds herself in the flagship role of speaking to the public in every facet about why the courts should still be trusted. It’s a personal role for her, as well as one that stems from her presence in Grand Junction.
Setting an example for other Grand Junction attorneys and Colorado lawyers statewide, Justice Marquez will be leaving a local impression on the state legal system for years, just as her father did as an appellate justice.
