The Honorable Zita Weinshienk was the first woman to serve as a judge on the Denver County Court, the Denver District Court, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. She attended the University of Colorado, was a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Arizona, and was a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School (and one of the first women to attend Harvard Law School).
Judge Wienshienk presided over the first trial ever to be filmed in its entirety in the United States. It was a trial of the late Lauren Watson, a founder of the Black Panther Party in Colorado. He was acquitted. The trial was filmed in 1969 and televised nationally in 1970. As a visible female jurist, she inspired many women who saw the trail to go to law school.
Weinshienk received numerous awards and was selected as one of the 100 Women in Touch with Our Time by Harper’s Bazaar Magazine in 1971. She was also honored by the University of Colorado, the Denver Federation of Business and Professional Women, the Colorado Bar Association, and the Colorado Women’s Leadership Coalition. Weinshienk received honorary degrees from Loretto Heights College and the University of Denver Law School.
Judge Weinshienk passed away in 2022.