Brian C. Williamson, an anthropologist turned criminal defense lawyer who was born and raised in Cortez, will be the newest addition to the Denver County Court.
He was appointed to the position by Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and will start Dec. 2, with a formal swearing-in on the 13th.
“I’ve been told I have the demeanor and temperament of a judge,” said Williamson. “But it hasn’t been a lifelong dream of mine.”
He said he hadn’t even planned to be a lawyer, having grown up with a father in the position.
In fact, the final advice his father had given him before going to law school was, simply, “Don’t go.”
So it wasn’t law that initially stole his heart; it was anthropology.
Williamson attributes that initial infatuation to his upbringing in the Four Corners, a region rich in diversity and culture, marked by three reservations in and around it.
It should come as no surprise, then, that after graduating high school in 1996, he left Cortez and went to the University of Colorado Boulder to pursue anthropology.
Williamson decided to travel when he graduated in 2000, to meet people and experience foreign cultures firsthand.
What was supposed to be a relatively short trip to Italy and Greece turned into a two-year exploration of the world.
“It was me, my backpack and my books,” Williamson said.
In that time, he saw Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Nepal – the list goes on.
He saw the places and met people not from the laminated glass windows of a tour bus, but from riding buses beside locals.
He read Salman Rushdie, Kurt Vonnegut, Jack Kerouac and whatever else he could get his hands on, while being challenged with language and cultural barriers.
“To call it life-altering would be an understatement,” Williamson said.
In those travels, he said empathy was one of the greatest things he learned.
While being considered for the judge position, he was asked whether he’d rather be decisive or empathetic.
“Decisiveness feels like a lack of empathy in my mind,” said Williamson. “Empathy is one of the best ways we can connect with one another.”
Two years into his travels, his parents asked the question sure to put a damper on a free-spirited quest: “What’s your backup plan?”
Unsure how to answer, Williamson made his way back to America. He decided to take tests to propel him into law school, and ended up going to Golden Gate University in San Francisco, where he graduated with his Juris Doctor in 2005.
There, he was introduced to criminal defense, a practice he quickly learned to love.
Criminal defense, like anthropology, comes down to understanding someone, their culture, what they need, and bringing that to life, he said.
After graduating, he stayed in California as a Judge Lee Baxter Graduate Fellow at Golden Gate, before eventually returning to Colorado.
In 2006, he became a public defender, a position he kept for more than six years while he represented people in Montrose and Arapahoe counties.
Eventually, he started his own firm called BCWilliamson, PC, where he works now in addition to his part-time role as magistrate to the Denver County Court.
Until recently, he’d fly down to Cortez and take cases here “to give back to the community I came from,” he said.
He said it was his positive experience as a magistrate coupled with a friend sharing the application that encouraged him to go for the judge job in August.
Once he applied, a nominating committee selected applicants to interview, and sent three names to the mayor.
Though the interview process was “lengthy and intensive,” Williamson regards the final one with the mayor as “the best part.”
“He’s so welcoming, smart and engaging,” said Williamson. “I couldn’t think more highly of him.”
Although his day-to-day life will change drastically, switching from new circumstances and cases every day to days of going to the same place, he said he’s excited and ready for the change.
“The Denver County Court is the most diverse in the state and one of the most diverse in the country,” he said. “I’m excited to be part of it.”
