Richard L. Gabriel (born March 3, 1962) was an American lawyer and judge, who is an associate 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 ...

. He previously served on the

Colorado Court of Appeals The Colorado Court of Appeals (Colo. App.) is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Colorado. It was initially established by statute in 1891 and was reestablished in its current form in 1970 by the Colorado General Assembly u ...

from 2008 to 2015.

Education and early career

Gabriel was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, in 1962, and was one of seven children. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

in 1984 at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, and received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1987 at the

University of Pennsylvania Law School The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (also known as Penn Carey Law, or Penn Law; previously University of Pennsylvania Law School) is the law school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Phi ...

, where he was articles editor for the ''

University of Pennsylvania Law Review The ''University of Pennsylvania Law Review'', formerly known as the ''American Law Register'', is a law review published by an organization of second and third year J.D. students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. It is the oldest law ...

'' from 1986 to 1987. Gabriel clerked for Judge J. Frederick Motz of the

United States District Court for the District of Maryland The United States District Court for the District of Maryland (in case citations, D. Md.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Maryland. Appeals from the District of Maryland are taken ...

from 1987 to 1988. He worked in private practice in

from 1988 to 1990. Gabriel moved to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

in 1990, because of a job offered to his wife, and was an associate and then a partner at a law firm 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 ...

from 1994 to 2008. Gabriel's wife, Jill Wichlens, is an attorney with the

Federal public defender In the United States, federal Public defender (United States), public defender organizations are entities in the Federal government of the United States, United States Federal Government, and their staffs are federal employees. Federal public defe ...

's office in Denver. Gabriel specialized in

business law Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law that applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and organizations engaged in ...

, including

commercial litigation Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmenta ...

and

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

law. He also served as city prosecutor for

Lafayette, Colorado The City of Lafayette ( ) is a home rule municipality located in southeastern Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 30,411 at the 2020 United States census. Geography Lafayette is located in southeastern Boulder ...

for several years. In 2007, Gabriel was named the Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year by ''

Law Week Colorado ''Law Week Colorado'' is a weekly newspaper covering legal issues specifically for lawyers, law firms, corporate counsel and the judiciary in Colorado. It is an official Colorado legal publication, as defined by state statute. The publication lau ...

''.

Judicial service

Colorado Governor The governor of Colorado is the head of government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either appr ...

Bill Ritter August William Ritter Jr. (born September 6, 1956) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 41st Governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the district attorney for Denver before his ele ...

announced in May 2008 that Gabriel would be appointed to the

, and he was sworn in as a judge on June 30. He was retained in a

retention election A retention election or retention referendum is a referendum where voters are asked if an office holder, usually a judge, should be allowed to continue in that office. The judge is removed from office if a majority of votes are cast against rete ...

in November 2010, winning 65.9 per cent of the vote. In March 2015, Justice

Gregory J. Hobbs Jr. Gregory James Hobbs Jr. (December 15, 1944 – November 30, 2021) was an American lawyer and judge who served as an associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court from 1996 to 2015. A leading expert on Colorado water law, Hobbs practiced enviro ...

announced that he would retire effective from September 1, 2015. The Colorado Judicial Nominating Commission selected Gabriel as one of three possible candidates to replace Hobbs. The other two candidates were

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 Studies i ...

professor Melissa Hart and El Paso County District Court Judge David Prince.

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

John Hickenlooper John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. ( ; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician, geologist, and businessman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A mem ...

announced Gabriel as his choice to replace Hobbs on June 23, 2015. In May 2017, Justice Gabriel concurred in judgment when finding that imposing an eighty-four year sentence on a fifteen-year-old murderer did not violate the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibition on sentencing juveniles to

life without parole Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...

because the child might live through the end of his sentence. Gabriel was retained by voters in a

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

retention election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabriel, Richard L. 1962 births Living people Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court Yale College alumni University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni Lawyers from Brooklyn 21st-century American judges Colorado Court of Appeals judges