All of us at Judicial Arbiter Group are heartbroken by the loss of our colleague and friend, Justice Melissa Hart.
Melissa joined JAG in February 2026 after retiring from the Colorado Supreme Court, bringing to our practice the same qualities that defined her entire career: a formidable intellect, genuine curiosity about every person who came before her, and an unshakable belief that the justice system must work for everyone it serves.
Melissa was a Denver native and a proud graduate of East High School. After Harvard Law School, she clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi of the Second Circuit and for Justice John Paul Stevens of the United States Supreme Court and served as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. For nearly two decades she taught at the University of Colorado Law School, where she directed the Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law and maintained an active pro bono practice throughout.
In 2017 she was appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court, where she served for eight years. Her colleagues across the bench and bar remember her integrity, her courage, and above all her commitment to access to justice. She championed Colorado’s licensed legal paraprofessional program and worked tirelessly so that low- and middle-income Coloradans, including people navigating family court without a lawyer, could find a fair hearing.
Those who worked alongside Melissa at JAG knew her as a kind, self-effacing mediator with a giant intellect. She approached every dispute with patience and respect for the parties and a keen sense of finding that balanced resolution.
We extend our deepest condolences to family, and to all who loved her. Colorado has lost one of its finest legal minds, and we have lost a dear friend. We will miss her greatly.