Melissa Hart (born 1969 or 1970) is a 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 consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. Powers and duties Appellate jurisdiction Discretionary appeals The Court ...

Biography

Hart was born to Phyllis Cox, a lawyer specializing in

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

, and Robert C. Hart, a business executive in the

energy industry The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution. Modern society consumes large amounts of fuel, and the energy industr ...

. In 1991, Hart received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, where she wrote for ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper of Harvard University and was founded in 1873. Run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates, it served for many years as the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Beginning in the f ...

'', and her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

'' from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1995, where she received the Sears Prize, was an Articles Editor of the ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of 143 ...

'', and was a member of the winning team in the 1994 Ames Moot Court Competition. After law school, she clerked for Judge

Guido Calabresi Guido Calabresi (born October 18, 1932) is an Italian-born American legal scholar and Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He is a former Dean of Yale Law School, where he has been a ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate j ...

, and then for Justice

John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-olde ...

of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...

from 1996 to 1997. Following her clerkships, she worked as a litigation attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 2001, she became an

Associate Professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the '' North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is ...

of Law at the

University of Colorado Law School The University of Colorado Law School is one of the professional graduate schools within the University of Colorado System. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor or Master of Laws, Mast ...

, and was later named the Schaden Chair and Professor of Law and director of the

Byron R. White Byron "Whizzer" Raymond White (June 8, 1917 April 15, 2002) was an American professional football player and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1962 until his retirement in 1993. Born and raised in Color ...

Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law. She is an expert on employment discrimination law. In March 2015, Justice Gregory J. Hobbs Jr. announced that he would retire effective from September 1, 2015. The Colorado Judicial Nominating Commission nominated professor Hart along with

Richard L. Gabriel Richard L. Gabriel (born March 3, 1962) is an American lawyer and judge, who is an associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. He previously served on the Colorado Court of Appeals from 2008 to 2015. Education and early career Gabriel was ...

and district court judge David Prince of the 4th Judicial District as possible candidates to replace Hobbs.

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

John Hickenlooper John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. (; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 20 ...

announced

Gabriel In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ� ...

as his choice to replace Hobbs on June 23, 2015. On June 7, 2017, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

nominated Justice

Allison H. Eid Allison Lynn Hartwell Eid (born January 1965) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. She previously served as an associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. Early life and education Bo ...

to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, who was sworn in on November 4. On November 29 the Colorado Judicial Nominating Commission nominated professor Hart, 12th Judicial District Chief Judge Patti P. Swift, and Marcy G. Glenn. On December 14, 2017, Gov.

named Hart as an associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. After serving for the remainder of Eid's term, Hart stood for election to a full ten-year term in 2020, which she won.

Personal life

On June 2, 2001, Hart married Kevin Thomas Traskos, who is also an attorney. She is the granddaughter of

Archibald Cox Archibald Cox Jr. (May 17, 1912 – May 29, 2004) was an American lawyer and Law Professor, law professor who served as United States Solicitor General, U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy and as a special prosecutor during the ...

References

Selected publications

* Hart (with Maria Ontiveros, Roberto Corrada, and Michael Selmi), ''Employment Discrimination Law: Cases and Material on Equality in the Workplace'' (Thomson/West, 10th ed. 2016). .

External links

Bio
University of Colorado Law School.
Appearances
on C-Span.org. 1960s births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American judges Place of birth missing (living people) American scholars of constitutional law Colorado lawyers Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Harvard Law School alumni The Harvard Crimson people University of Colorado Law School faculty American women legal scholars American legal scholars Harvard College alumni {{US-state-judge-stub

Biography

Personal life

See also

References

Selected publications

External links