On Friday, August 10, 2012, Governor John Hickenlooper announced his appointment of Bennet Morris to serve as a Montrose County Court judge. Morris will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Jerry Montgomery. His appointment is effective immediately.

Morris is currently the Senior Assistant City Attorney for the city of Montrose, a position he has held since 2003. In this role, he provides a range of legal advice to the City Council, senior staff, the Planning Commission, and other city boards. He previously worked as an indemnity and claims evaluator at the Land Title Guarantee Company.

Morris earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati and his law degree from the University of Idaho.

The Seventh Judicial District Nominating Commission has nominated three candidates for a Montrose County court judgeship created by the resignation of the Honorable Jerry Montgomery on July 3, 2012.

The nominees for the bench are Bennet Morris, Seth Ryan, and Jason Wilson. All nominees are from Montrose and were selected by the commission on July 24.

Under the Colorado Constitution, Governor Hickenlooper has until August 9 to appoint one of the nominees as County Court Judge for Montrose County.

The Seventh Judicial District Nominating Commission will meet July 24, 2012 to interview and select nominees for appointment by Governor Hickenlooper to the office of County Judge for Montrose County. The vacancy will be created by the resignation of the Honorable Jerry Montgomery. The vacancy is effective immediately.

Judge Montgomery was appointed by then-Governor Bill Ritter in January 2011. He handled traffic and misdemeanor criminal trials, civil cases under $15,000, restraining orders, felony preliminary hearings, and some felony sentencings.

Eligible applicants for appointment to fill the vacancy must be qualified electors of Montrose County and must be admitted to the practice of law in Colorado. Applications must be received by Monday, July 16. The appointed county court judge will serve an initial provisional term of two years before facing a retention election. If retained in the general election, judges serve four-year terms.

Further information about applying for the vacancy is available here from the Colorado Judicial Branch.