The Hon. Clarisse Gonzales is a judge for the Denver County Court in Colorado. She was appointed to the bench by former Mayor John Hickenlooper in 2007.
Prior to her appointment, Gonzales was a magistrate for the 18th Judicial District Court, a position to which she was named in 2005. Before that, she spent time as a prosecutor, a criminal defense attorney, and a guardian ad litem in dependency and neglect cases.
Gonzales earned a bachelor’s degree in visual arts from the University of Northern Colorado in 1987. She then completed a J.D. at Howard University School of Law in 1992.
Her memberships have included the Judicial Outsight Group. She created the organization in order to coordinate public service opportunities for judicial officers, bringing awareness to—and seeking to improve—mental health in the legal field.
She is a recipient of the Judicial Excellence Award from the Colorado Judicial Institute (2015).