Kathleen M. Tafoya
U.S. District Court (D-CO)
Honorable Kathleen M. Tafoya began working at the Clerk's Office of the U.S. District Court in 1978 as a Deputy Clerk before she even completed college. She graduated summa cum laude from University of Colorado with a degree in political science and graduated from C.U. law school in 1987. She practiced with Gorsuch, Kirgis, Campbell, Walker and Grover in the commercial litigation section until she was hired by the United States Attorney's Office in the District of Colorado in 1990. In her 18-year career as a federal prosecutor Judge Tafoya prosecuted hundreds of defendants in the federal court system and specialized in highly complex gang and drug investigations spanning multiple jurisdictions and often involving sophisticated investigative techniques such as wiretapping. She has conducted dozens of criminal trials and is the recipient of numerous awards and commendations including two F.B.I. Director's Awards, two Health and Human Services Integrity Awards as well as variously titled commendations from most of the federal law enforcement agencies and several local police departments. Judge Tafoya was appointed to the federal bench in January 2008 and is now in her second eight year term with the court, having been reappointed in 2016.
07/21
