Housing law attorney, former public defender named Weld District Court judge – Greeley Tribune
A housing law and eviction defense attorney who briefly served as a senior deputy public defender will become a Weld District Court judge at the end of July.
Gov. Jared Polis on Friday appointed Allison J. Esser to the 19th Judicial District Court, filling the vacancy to be left by Judge Thomas H. Quammen upon his retirement July 31.
Esser has been an attorney focused on housing law and eviction defense at Colorado Legal Services since 2020, according to a news release from the governor’s office. From 2019-2020, she had a private practice at AJ Esser Law, LLC in Fort Collins. She served at the Colorado State Public Defender’s Office in Greeley, as a senior deputy public defender from 2017-2019 and as a deputy public defender from 2013-2017.
Esser earned her bachelor’s degree from University of California Berkeley in 2009 and her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 2012.
The 19th Judicial District nominating commission met earlier this month to select nominees for the position. Members included Thomas Fasano of Windsor; Joyce Smock of Grover; and Virginia Rosales, Elisa Kunkel, Kathryn Heffron, Keith Coleman and Brynne Gant, all of Greeley.
The annual salary for the position is $173,248. The initial term is a provisional term of two years.
After that, if approved by the voters, Esser will serve a term of six years.
