Katharine "Jenny" Ellison
CO · Judge, Larimer County Court
Katharine Ellison has been a Larimer County Court judge since Gov. Jared Polis appointed her in 2020. A former prosecutor focused on appeals and juvenile cases, she is known for using remote hearings to widen court access and for helping people who represent themselves.
Track record
Track record — General
General · 1 record
Won her first retention vote as Larimer County Court judge on 2022-11-08, with 100,846 yes votes and 33,465 no votes (75% yes).
November 8, 2022
Source: coloradosos.gov
Track record — Legal Competence
Legal Competence · 4 favorable
Rated as meeting performance standards by the 8th Judicial District judicial performance commission, 8-0, in 2026. It praised her written opinions and said her spoken rulings in court could be clearer.
August 4, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence
Source: judicialperformance.colorado.gov
Rated as meeting performance standards by the 8th Judicial District judicial performance commission, 10-0, in 2022. In its survey, 94% of attorneys said she met standards.
August 9, 2022Favorable on Legal Competence
Source: judicialperformance.colorado.gov
Appointed Larimer County Court judge by Gov. Jared Polis on 2020-01-23, replacing retiring Judge Peter Schoon. She took the bench February 27, 2020.
January 23, 2020Favorable on Legal Competence
Source: colorado.gov
Won a prosecution appeal, as a Larimer County prosecutor, that restored a child sex offender's 16-years-to-life sentence. The Colorado Supreme Court upheld that win on 2015-06-15 (Hunsaker v. People).
June 15, 2015Favorable on Legal Competence
Source: courtlistener.com
Past race Katharine "Jenny" Ellison ran in:
- Shall Judge Katharine "Jenny" Ellison of the Larimer County Court be retained in office? · November 3, 2026 · Larimer County, Colorado · incumbent