Distinguished Alumni Award Winner Profile

David Ramirez, 78JD, has accomplished much in his relatively young legal career, including establishing the first municipal juvenile court in Denver, Colorado. Currently a district court judge in that city, Ramirez has also served as a county court judge, a supervisor in the city attorney's office, an assistant city attorney, general counsel to Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and as staff attorney for Denver's Metropolitan Legal Aid Society.

In his role as juvenile court judge, Ramirez has spoken out against the increasing rate of juvenile crime and delinquency in Denver, his hometown. As a native of two of the city's toughest neighborhoods, Ramirez has said that he understands the sort of pressures many young people experience, that knowledge does not make him a pushover with juvenile miscreants. However, saying his goal is to educate and rehabilitate the young people who come before him, he has established a reputation for toughness on the bench.

Beyond his work with teen delinquency, Ramirez has been active in a number of legal associations, serving as a governor of the Colorado Bar Association and a trustee for the Denver Bar Association. He is a past president of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association and regional president of the National Hispanic Bar Association.

Ramirez is also active in law-related education. He recently was certified as an instructor for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and he currently teaches a seminar on juvenile justice at the University of Colorado School of Law.