The 22nd Judicial District Nominating Commission has nominated three candidates for a Dolores County Court judgeship created by the Anthony Baca’s appointment to the 6th Judicial Court District in Durango.
The vacancy occurred on Dec. 27, 2022, and Baca was chosen by Gov. Jared Polis to fill the position vacated by Todd Norvell. was appointed by Gov. Jared Polis to fill the La Plata District Court position.
Nominees for the Dolores County Court judgeship are Anne Deyell-Lawrence of Cahone and Ian MacLaren and Matthew Margeson, both of Dolores. They were selected in a meeting on Jan. 23 by the nominating commission.
Under the Colorado Constitution, the governor has 15 days from Jan. 24, 2023, within which to appoint one of the nominees as county court judge for Dolores County.
Comments regarding any of the nominees may be sent via email to the governor at gov_judicialappointments@state.co.us.
Deyell-Lawrence has been the clerk of Dolores County Combined Court since 2009.
As court clerk, she has experience in criminal and civil matters, trials and depositions, and legal research.
According to her application, she has worked in the legal profession since the 1980s.
Her involvement in professional organizations include the Court Reminder Program, Public Access Committee and Virtual Trial Committee.
“Over the past 14 years, I have diligently served the people of Dolores County and the judicial branch with fair, impartial and courteous assistance,” Deyell-Lawrence states in her application. “I believe that I have earned the trust and respect of the community and the parties appearing before the Court, through this dedication, hard work, respect and fairness to all.”
She has a degree from California State University, Los Angeles, and attended Kensington Law School from 1995-1996. Deyell-Lawrence previously worked as a legal assistant for the Loomis & Loomis law firm for nine years. She was also the county assistant manager for Craig and Glenwood Springs, according to her resume.
MacLaren has worked as the Montezuma County attorney since 2021 and was previously the assistant county attorney for five years.
As county attorney, he advises the board of county commissioners and provides legal assistance to elected officials and department heads.
The job includes drafting legal documents and arguing civil cases in court. As assistant county attorney, MacLaren served as the primary legal adviser to the Montezuma County Department of Human Services in matters related to child protection, adult protection, child support enforcement, treatment plans, records requests, and subpoenas.
As an attorney for the county he represented the Department of Human Services in five appeals in front of the Colorado Court of Appeals on dependency and neglect cases. He also represented the county involving tax assessments issues.
MacLaren has also worked in the private sector, representing criminal defendants in local and regional courts, including the Ute Mountain Ute courts.
He has a bachelor's degree from College of the Holy Cross, and a Juris Doctor from Gonzaga University School of Law. He is also a sports reporter at Southwest Colorado Preps.
Margeson serves as the 22nd Judicial District Attorney and was elected to the position in 2020. He previously served as a deputy DA and assistant DA for the same office.
His primary role is criminal prosecution, and he also handles cases involving juveniles along with mental health cases, according to his application. He carries a full case docket and also oversees deputy DAs and department staff.
Day-to-day to work involves reviewing incoming cases to make determinations about proceeding with charges. As the primary prosecutor for juvenile cases, he stated that “his role is to listen to our community’s various juvenile resource providers and make a determination based not on a punitive outcome, but on what supports and services we can put in place to set up juveniles for success.”
He was in private practice for seven years in the Denver area, where he focused on serving clients in divorce, child custody, dependency and neglect, and criminal defense cases.
Margeson has a law degree from University of Denver, and a bachelor’s in computer engineering from University of Michigan.
