Mary Jane Mullarkey (September 28, 1943 – March 31, 2021) was a chief justice of the

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the court was established in 1876. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices who are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a ...

and the first female Supreme Court chief justice in the state of Colorado. She was inducted into the

Colorado Women's Hall of Fame The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to the history of the U.S. state of Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the ...

in 2012.

Biography

Mullarkey was born on September 28, 1943, to John and Isabelle Mullarkey in

New London, Wisconsin New London is a city in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, Outagamie and Waupaca County, Wisconsin, Waupaca counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Founded in 1851, the population was 7,348 at the 2020 census. The city has an annual Saint Patrick's D ...

. She would attend St. Norbert College and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

. On July 24, 1971, she married Thomas E. Korson.

Career

Mullarkey began her career in Washington, D.C., with the Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior. Here, she represented federal agencies in water, environmental, and civil rights cases. Later, Mullarkey developed expertise in race and gender discrimination cases under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. That led to a position at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, CO in 1973. Mullarkey then went to work for the office of the Colorado Attorney General, where she first worked on appeals under attorney general J.D. MacFarlane, then transitioned to the position of solicitor general. In that role, Mullarkey was lead counsel for the state in major appellate cases from 1975 to 1982. From 1982 to 1985 Mullarkey served as the chief advisor to Governor Dick Lamm. Governor

Roy Romer Roy Rudolf Romer (born October 31, 1928) is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Colorado from 1987 to 1999, and subsequently as the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District from 2000 to 2006. Romer was a ...

appointed Mullarkey to the Colorado Supreme Court on June 29, 1987. In 1998, Mullarkey was chosen by her fellow justices as the first female chief justice in the state's history. She took over the center chair on Aug. 3, 1998 and served as chief justice for 12 years. Mullarkey's tenure as chief justice was the longest of any Colorado chief justice and continued until her retirement on November 30, 2010. During her 23-year tenure on the Colorado Supreme Court, Mullarkey heard more than 30,000 cases and authored 472 opinions. She helped to increase Colorado's number of judges by 27 percent, remodel courthouses, institute judicial training and juror appreciation programs, and turn Colorado's judicial system into a national technological model. Mullarkey instituted a rule that all court buildings must have waiting rooms that provide children with a safe place to stay during their parents' court appearances. Prior to retiring, Mullarkey worked to bring to fruition the state-of-the-art Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center in Denver. Mary Mullarkey died March 31, 2021, at the age of 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullarkey, Mary 1943 births 2021 deaths People from New London, Wisconsin Lawyers from Denver Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court St. Norbert College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Chief justices of the Colorado Supreme Court Women chief justices of state supreme courts in the United States 20th-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American judges 21st-century American women judges