David Furman

Date of Judicial Appointment: December 16, 2005

Judge Furman co-piloted the first Indian Child Welfare Act appellate division in the United States (May 2017 to August 2019) and participates in the courts’ Judge Lorenzo Márquez Appellate Diversity Internship Program.

He serves as the Eighteenth Judicial District liaison for the Court of Appeals’ district outreach program.

Denver District Court

Before his appointment, Judge Furman served as a Magistrate in the Denver District Court, presiding over the adult drug court, and handling post-decree domestic relations and foreclosure cases (2003-2005). 

Denver Juvenile Court

Judge Furman also served as a Magistrate in the Denver Juvenile Court, handling child protection, adoption, delinquency, truancy, and paternity and support cases (1999-2005).

Committee Roles

• Court Improvement Program Co-chair | Executive Committee member: 2002–2005 | 2011–Present
• Child Welfare Appeals Workgroup Chair: 2018–Present (the first of its kind in the United States)
• Indian Child Welfare Act Rules and Resources Committee Chair: 2015–Present
• Appellate Juvenile Forms for Pro se Litigants Committee:  2021-present
• Juvenile Rules Committee member: 2016–Present; Final Rules Drafting Subcommittee:  Chair, 2020-present
• Collegiality Committee of the Court of Appeals member: 2019-2020
• Colorado Judicial Education Leadership Council Co-Chair: 2010 | 2015–2018
• Ad Hoc Committee of the Court of Appeals to improve Respondent Parent Counsel Co-Chair: 2011–2014
• Colorado Supreme Court Standing Committee on Family Issues: 2011–2018
• Respondent Parents’ Counsel Work Group member: 2014
• Respondent Parents’ Counsel Appellate Subcommittee member: 2014
• Drug Court Advisory Committee member: 2003–2005
• Child Welfare Advisory Group member: 1999-2000

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Appellate Judicial Skills Certificate (2018)

National Judicial College, Reno, NV

Executive Leadership Development Certificate (2017)

Colorado Judicial Branch, Denver, CO

EDUCATION

Juris Doctor, June 1989

Denver University Sturm College of Law, Denver, CO

• Public Interest Clerkship Grant (1989)
• The Jonathan L. Olom Trial Advocacy Scholarship (1988)

Master of Social Work, June 1989

University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, Denver, CO

• Abused Women as Defendants: Group Research Paper (1989)
• The Dorothy C. Spellman Award (1986)

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Christian Education, June 1982

Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL

BAR ADMISSIONS

Colorado Attorney (1989–Present)

Admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and United States District Court for the District of Colorado

LEGAL CAREER

Before taking the bench, Judge Furman practiced trial and appellate litigation with his own criminal defense and family law firm, representing children and parents in dependency and neglect and domestic relations child custody cases (1995-2000).

He also served as a Deputy Public Defender in the Appellate Division of the Colorado State Public Defender’s Office (1990-1995).

PUBLICATIONS

Books

1.  ANDREA SALTZMAN & DAVID FURMAN, LAW IN SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE (2d ed. 1999).

2. DAVID FURMAN ET AL., JUDICIAL BENCHBOOK ON COLORADO CHILD WELFARE LAW, 4th ed., Colorado Department of Human Services, Denver, CO (2005).

3. DAVID FURMAN ET AL., JUDICIAL BENCHBOOK ON COLORADO CHILD WELFARE LAW, 3d ed., Colorado Department of Human Services & the American Bar Association, Denver, CO (2002).

Chapters in Edited Books

1.  DAVID FURMAN & ZACHARY CUMMINGS, Oral Argument, in COLORADO APPELLATE HANDBOOK (Steve Bernard ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2020).

2. DAVID FURMAN ET AL., Appeals in Proceedings in Dependency or Neglect, in COLORADO APPELLATE HANDBOOK (Steve Bernard ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2020).

3. DAVID FURMAN, Oral Argument, in COLORADO APPELLATE HANDBOOK (Alan Loeb ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2017).

4. DAVID FURMAN & DAVID DEAN, Appeals in Proceedings in Dependency or Neglect, in COLORADO APPELLATE HANDBOOK (Alan Loeb ed., CLE in Colorado, Inc., 2017).

Law-Related Articles and Other Resources

1. David Furman et al., ICWA on Appeal:  New Challenges and New Approaches, 49 COLO. LAW. 8 (2020).

2. David Furman et al., Guidelines for Evaluating Colorado Supreme Court Justices and Court of Appeals Judges, COMMITTEE ON JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE MATRIX, organized by Director Kent Wagner, Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation, Denver, Colorado (November 11, 2017).  Mr. Wagner organized this committee in response to commission on judicial performance legislation.  See, e.g., §§ 13-5.5-101 to–116, C.R.S. 2016.

3. David Furman et al., An Overview of the Colorado Court of Appeals:  The People Involved, How a Case Moves Through the Court, and Other Details, in https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/Court_Of_Appeals/Protocols.cfm.

4. David Furman & Richard Gabriel, Oral Argument Procedures and Protocols and Some Tips for a More Persuasive Oral Argument, Colorado Court of Appeals (2015-present).  This handout is distributed to all attorneys who appear for oral argument in the Colorado Court of Appeals.

5. David Furman & David Dean, Revisions to CAR 3.4 Encourage Improved Advocacy in Dependency and Neglect Appeals, 79 COLO. LAW. 54 (2016).

6. David Furman et al., Respondent Parents’ Counsel Workgroup:  Final Report to the State Court Administrator, Denver, Colorado (September 30, 2014). 

7. David Furman & Kathleen Janski, Guidance for Attorneys when Children’s Mental Health Concerns are Implicated, 31 COLO. LAW. 33 (2002).  This article was included in a theme issue on Children and the Law, which won the Luminary Award for Excellence in Special Publications given by the National Association of Bar Executives. 

8. David Furman et al., The Updated role of the Guardian ad Litem in Juvenile Delinquency Cases, 31 COLO. LAW. 79 (2002).

9. David Furman et al., The Role of the Guardian ad Litem in Juvenile Delinquency Cases, 27 COLO. LAW. 53 (1998).

10. David Furman & Mike McGurrin, Hunger and Homelessness in America, a Survey of State Legislation, 66 DENVER U. L. REV. 277 (1989).

Initiatives to Improve the Law

Successfully Proposed the Following

1. The Office of the Child’s Representative (OCR) (a state office designed to improve the practices of guardians ad litem in child welfare cases), see C.R.S. § 13-91-101 et seq. (H.B. 00–1371)

2. The Respondent Parents’ Counsel Work Group, which recommended to the legislature the structure of the Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel (ORPC) (a state office designed to improve the practices of attorneys representing parents in child welfare cases), see C.R.S. § 13-92-101 et seq. (H.B. 15–1149)

3. The Respondent Parents’ Counsel Work Group Appellate Subcommittee, which recommended to the Colorado Supreme Court the current version of Colorado Appellate Rule 3.4 (requiring traditional briefing of child welfare cases and the first state appellate rule governing Indian Child Welfare Act compliance in the United States) (May 23, 2016)

4. Opening adoption hearings to the public (included as a recommendation in the 2004 Lieutenant Governor’s Committee to Promote Adoption Report) (H.B. 05–1173)

5. Amending the definition of child abuse to include when a child tests positive at birth for a Schedule-1 or Schedule 2 controlled substance (included as a recommendation in the 2004 Lieutenant Governor’s Committee to Promote Adoption Report) (H.B. 05–1141)

6. Amending background checks in adoption cases (H.B. 04–1149)

7. Making procedural modifications to Colorado’s Safe Haven statute (H.B. 03–1095)

8. Reauthorizing the Colorado Children’s Trust Fund (H.B. 02–1063)

9. Adding licensed marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, and unlicensed psychotherapists as mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect (S.B. 01–47)

10. The Juvenile Law Column of the COLORADO LAWYER (the first of its kind in the country) (2002)

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Colorado Institute for Faculty Excellence in Judicial Education, Denver, CO

Faculty Member and Mentor, 2010 | 2015–2018

Judge Furman taught sessions on adult education principles and mentored judges and professional staff developing continuing judicial and legal education courses.

University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, Denver, CO

Adjunct Professor, 1995–2005 | 2015–2016 | 2018

Judge Furman taught courses on Law and on Public Policy to graduate social work students.

Institute for Faculty Excellence in Judicial Education, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN

Faculty, 2010

Judge Furman taught sessions on adult education principles and mentored judges developing continuing judicial education courses.

Colorado Christian University, Lakewood, CO

Adjunct Professor, 2004-2008

Judge Furman taught graduate and undergraduate courses on non-profit organizations, sociology, and laws affecting professional counselors.

Continuing Judicial and Legal Education Seminars

Judge Furman serves as a trainer for the New Judge Orientation, Dependency and Neglect Judicial Institute, the Bench Basics-Dependency and Neglect video series, and the Bench Basics-Criminal video series.  He also regularly presents at the annual Colorado Judicial Conference and at professional attorney conferences and is a faculty trainer and participant for the Courts in the Community outreach program to high school teachers and students.

CIVIC AND CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Colorado Children’s Trust Fund Board of Directors, Denver, CO: 1998–2005

• Board Chair (2000-2005)

Deer Creek Church Board of Directors, Littleton, CO: 1996–2004

Arapahoe / Douglas Mental Health Network Board of Directors, Littleton, CO: 1993–2001

• President of the Board (1997–1999)

Public Interest Clerkship Selection and Steering Committee, University of Denver College of Law: 1989–1993

PAST COMMITTEE ROLES

• Lieutenant Governor’s Committee to Promote Adoption member: 2004
• State Task Force on Child Welfare member: 2003–2004
• Indian Child Welfare Act Taskforce member: 2002
• Competency in Professional Child Welfare Hiring Workgroup member: 2000–2001

PERSONAL

Judge Furman is married to Liz Cowen Furman.  He and Liz are the proud parents of three sons: Martin, Matthew, and Micah.