Before Frances Johnson ’94 ever thought she’d become a judge, she fondly remembers being fascinated by exciting portrayals of a legal system at work while watching courtroom TV dramas with her parents.
Now, after a 40 years career in law, she is excelling in her recent role as a Fourth Judicial District Judge in El Paso County.
To Johnson, it wasn’t just her experience and perseverance that helped her earn this prestigious position, it was her education. This includes a law degree from the University of Texas, Austin, but also foundational double major from UCCS.
While getting her Bachelor of Arts in both Psychology and Sociology from UCCS between 1990-1994, Johnson says she was able to learn skills that have helped her navigate many different legal roles.
“My psychology studies have served me very well, all throughout my career,” Johnson says. “When I was a magistrate, one of the dockets I had was mental health and probate. So my background would help me to understand the decisions I had to make.”
A career in criminal justice
After kickstarting her valuable double major at UCCS, Johnson moved to Austin, Texas and immersed herself in a complex Juris Doctorate degree. It covered everything law-related, from criminal procedures to trial advocacy.
Fortunately, her UCCS double major prepared her well for an intense three years of classwork.
“The writing and classes where I had more substantive research — all of that did help with transitioning to law school,” Johnson explains.
Upon graduating and passing her bar exam in 1997, Johnson stayed in Texas and dove into working as an attorney in the Texas Attorney General’s Office, then the Travis County Juvenile Office, as well as the City of Austin Texas.
Through these roles, Johnson gained a deeper understanding of the law that would help her later on the bench. She also began working with kids caught up in the courts.
Helping children caught in the justice system
Johnson realized it was time to head back to Colorado to be with her family after doing civil litigation at the Carey Law Firm in Texas for almost five years and leading her own solo practice for a while.
Once home, Johnson helped kids again by providing services to children involved in cases of delinquency and negligence through the El Paso County Guardian ad Litem Office.
“I like working with kids because they’re just starting out,” Johnson says. “I like the opportunity to help put them on a path that, hopefully, gets their life going in a positive direction and not a negative one.”
Johnson has always believed fairness is the basis for all legality. Fairness is what drove Johnson to become a judge in the first place.
“Seeing what I perceived as different injustices made me want to be a judge,” Johnson recalls. “To be the one that made the decision that was fair. I felt that that’s how I could help people.”
Her historic role
As El Paso County’s first female African-American judge, Johnson feels a great responsibility to give every person an impartial hearing.
“It’s a big responsibility and sometimes it’s daunting because I can impact a person’s life,” Johnson says. “So it’s really important to me to get things right.”
This mindset informs her personalized approach to presiding over the courtroom, which she refined during her six years as a Fourth Judicial District Magistrate. Being in court day after day eventually paid off when a position for judge opened up last year.
To become a judge in Colorado, one needs to practice law for at least five years, Johnson says. But that’s pretty limited. Most judges still need far more time focusing on all specific areas of the law.
Also, those applying can only do so once a position has become available. Then, each applicant must interview in front of a Judicial Performance Commission before the Governor’s Office of Legal Counsel makes a final decision.
A dream come true
For Johnson, being selected to fulfill her lifelong dream was beyond belief, especially because it wasn’t her first time applying.
As an admittedly more introverted judicial officer, Johnson practiced well for her interview, and relied on past test-taking and research skills to help her remember key speaking points.
“I’m a very cerebral person, but the commission wanted to know more personal things,” Johnson recalls. “By practicing interviewing and talking to a couple of judges who were successful going through the process, I felt like everything aligned.”
As a judge, Johnson’s day-to-day work is similar to that of her magistrate duties.
She hears a variety of cases within a legal docket, ranging from divorce hearings to child custody proceedings. In each case, she has to review evidence and deliver sentencing. Sometimes, it can be a tough call. But, other times, it can be rewarding.
In one instance, Johnson recalls granting one family rights to approve medical services for their adult son, who was unable to communicate for himself. After the trial, the boy’s younger sister gave Johnson a cute drawing with the words “Thank You Judge” scribbled across it.
Putting care into the courtroom
To Johnson, it feels strange to be acknowledged for simply doing her job, but she puts care into her cases.
She thinks the more oversight a case has, the more trust people will trust in the legal system. And as a person of color, she also recognizes the need to bring more diversity to courts everywhere.
“Law is so essential to what our society needs to function appropriately,” Johnson concludes. “So it’s sad to see some of the things that are happening across the country. The bench should really reflect the communities that we serve. It’s difficult to [be] fair if people don’t see all different backgrounds.”
With this, Johnson is setting a better example, as a judge who relies on past and future knowledge to bring a better, more balanced form of justice to El Paso County.