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About
About Judge Mary Celeste (Ret.)
(303) 501-3242
Get to Know Judge Mary Celeste (Ret.)
Judge Mary A. Celeste (ret.) sat on the Denver County Court bench 2000-2015. She was the Presiding Judge 2009-10 and the co-founder of the Denver County Court Sobriety Court. She is currently a law school professor and university professor teaching Cannabis and the Law and is considered a national content expert on the topic of cannabis. She was a co-coordinator for the 2022 National Interdisciplinary Symposium which included judges, attorneys, law students, specialty court professionals HR, toxicologists/scientists, law enforcement and NORML. It also included cannabis commissioners and the state legislative experts. She has written many articles on the topic of cannabis and is a national speaker and consultant on many topics related to cannabis including, marijuana and drug impaired driving, specialty courts and cannabis, cannabis and juveniles and other topics.
She is a former member of the Judicial Advisory Board for the Foundation for the Advancement of Alcohol Responsibility (FAAR); Faculty for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) and the National Judicial College (NJC). She has also served as the past chair of ABA National Conference of Specialized Court Judges; the President of the American Judge’s Association and the Colorado Women’s Bar Association Foundation, and, as a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Judicial Outreach Liaison.
She has presented to AJA; ALA; NEADCP, NADCP, APPA, ABA, DATIA, NHTSA, NEADCP, Lifesavers, Pennsylvania DUI Association, Michigan and Louisiana Association of Drug Court Professionals and to Judges, Attorneys; Specialty Court Conferences, National Interdisciplinary Cannabis Symposium, and Safety Highway Offices in the States of Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, U.S. Territories, and in Canada.
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Awards
- Colorado LGBT Bar Association Trailblazer Award 2023
- Colorado LGBT Center Contribution to the Community Award 2016
- IALGBT Judges Presidents Award 2015
- American Judges Association 2011 Judge William H, Burnett Award
- Colorado Women's Bar Association, 2011 Mary Lathrop Award
- State of Colorado 2008 Colorado Humanities Award
- American Judges Association 2007 Judge Bob Jones Memorial Award for Education
- Denver Bar Association 2006 Judicial Excellence Award
- Colorado Women's Bar Association 2006 Judicial Recognition Award
- Colorado Business Council 2002 Professional Woman of the Year
- American Association of University Women 1998 Trailblazer Award
- Human Rights Campaign 1994 Paul Hunter Award
- California Western School of Law 1982 Outstanding Editor Award
- Grossmont College 1977 Memorial Fund Scholarship
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