Michael L. Bender

Michael Lee Bender (born January 7, 1942) Prior to becoming a judge, he worked in private practice, for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and as a public defender in Denver and Jefferson County and for the state. Bender also taught criminal law, criminal trial advocacy, and employment discrimination law at the University of Denver College of Law. He won retention in 2010, despite opposition from conservative and Libertarian groups. He was voted Chief Justice by his fellow justices in 2010, taking the position on December 1, 2010. He retired from the court on January 7, 2014.

Bender is a registered Democrat. He has five children with his wife, Helen H. Hand, a psychologist who runs Colorado Free University; the couple live in the Stapleton development in Denver.