Hon. Erin Sokol appointed Chief Judge of 4th Judicial District

Thursday, January 4, 2024
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright has appointed the Hon. Erin Sokol to serve as chief judge in the 4th Judicial District (El Paso and Teller counties).

As of Feb. 5, 2024, Judge Sokol will replace the Hon. William Bain, who was appointed to the bench in 2010 and has served as chief judge since August 2017. Chief Judge Bain chose to make the change so he could return to presiding over a full-time docket.

“Chief Judge Bain has proved to be an exemplary administrative leader for a very busy system of courts and probation in the 4th Judicial District,” Chief Justice Boatright said. “We are happy that the people of Colorado will continue to benefit from his skills as a judicial officer. At the same time, I am confident that Judge Sokol will continue the tradition of very able leadership in the district.”

After graduating from the University of Michigan, Judge Sokol earned her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1999. She worked in private practice in Washington, D.C., and in Colorado Springs before she was appointed to the bench in August 2017. She will be the first female chief judge of the 4th Judicial District.

As chief judge, she will serve as the administrative head of the district, responsible for appointing the court executive, chief probation officer and clerk of court, assisting in personnel, financial, and case-management duties, and seeing that the business of the courts and probation is conducted efficiently and effectively.