The Hon. Chelsea Malone is a judge for the Denver County Court in Colorado. She was appointed to the bench by Mayor Michael Hancock on July 7, 2016.
Prior to her appointment, Malone was a sole practitioner in her own private practice, specializing in criminal defense matters. She was also of counsel for the Law Offices of Fred Andrew Dunsing, where she handled family law matters.
Malone earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wyoming. She spent the next few years working as an executive lead for Target, opening the state’s first SuperTarget in Superior. She then completed a J.D. at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law.
Malone was admitted to the State Bar of Colorado in 2004.
After graduating from law school, Malone began her legal career as a deputy state public defender for the Denver Trial Office of the Colorado State Public Defender’s Office.
Her memberships have included the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado, the Colorado Women’s Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association, and the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar. She has also been involved with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, Reading Partners Colorado, and the Bail Blue Ribbon Commission.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Malone was adopted by her mother, a nurse stationed at the Yongsan Military Base with the United States Army. Shortly after, she relocated with her mother to Crow Agency, Montana, where her mother worked for the Indian Health Service on the Crow Reservation. That’s where Malone met her father, a tribal member and game warden of the Crow Tribe.