Claudia J. Jordan | |
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Alma mater | University of North Carolina, Charlotte; University of Colorado School of Law |
Occupation | Retired Judge |
Honorable Claudia J. Jordan is a retired judge in Colorado. Jordan was the first Black female judge in the Rocky Mountain region, seated in 1994.[1] She retired in 2014.
Claudia Jean Jordan grew up in North Carolina, raised by her grandparents in a sharecropping family. Many adults had only an elementary level education, and Jordan heard the adults around her talking about how they needed a good lawyer. She became the kid in the neighborhood who read legal documents to neighbors who could not read.[2] She attended segregated schools until 10th grade.[3]
Jordan was the first Black analyst for the Colorado Legislative Council. She helped put together the blue book for voters.[2]
Jordan earned a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte[3] in political science in 1975.[4] Jordan was only one of three Black students and the only Black woman in her law school class at the University of Colorado School of Law.[2][5] She graduated in 1980,[4] and was admitted to the State Bar of Colorado in 1982.[3]
Jordan began her legal career as a law clerk for Hon. Morris Cole on the 2nd Judicial District Court.[3] Another of her mentors was James Flanagan.[2] She started out as a deputy state public defender from 1982 to 1987,[4][5] and served as a private practice attorney from 1987 to 1994.[3]
In 1994, Jordan was appointed to the Denver County Court by Mayor Wellington Webb, and became the first Black female judge in the Rocky Mountain region.[6]
Jordan retired in 2014 after 20 years on the bench. Mayor Michael Hancock recognized her work by proclaiming September 30 as Claudia Jordan Day.[5]
Jordan served on the board of trustees for the Denver Bar Association, and the board of governors of the Colorado Bar Association.[5]