Passing of the Honorable Zita Weinshienk

The Honorable Zita Weinshienk passed away October 7, 2022 at the age of 89.

She was the first woman to ever be appointed to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado where she was an active judge from 1979 through 1998 and assumed senior judge status from 1998 through 2011. She was also the first woman to be appointed to the Denver Municipal Court (now the Denver County Court), from 1964 through 1965, and the first woman on the Denver District Court from 1965 through 1971. 

Judge Weinshienk graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree before graduating in 1958 from Harvard Law School. Weinshienk was among the first wave of women to attend Harvard Law School in the fall of 1955.

She oversaw the trial of Black Panther Lauren Watson, which was the first televised trial ever. It can still be watched at https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-516-r785h7d00p.

An oral history of Judge Weinshienk’s life is available here: https://abawtp.law.stanford.edu/exhibits/show/zita-l-weinshienk