The Hon. Johnny C. Barajas (Ret.) served as a judge for the Denver County Court in Colorado. Barajas was appointed to the bench by Mayor Wellington Webb on January 14, 2003. He retired in 2020.
Prior to his appointment, Barajas was a magistrate for the 17th Judicial District Court, a position to which he was named in 1997. In that capacity, he presided over juvenile and family law matters in Adams County. Before that, he was a magistrate for the Denver County Court (1995 to 1997).
Barajas earned a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University in 1981. He then completed a J.D. at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law in 1984.
After graduating from law school, Barajas began his legal career as a Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellow in Poverty Law for the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Denver. He served in that capacity until 1989, at which time he entered into private practice at Holland & Hart.
Then, in 1992, Barajas joined Mann & Shappell, the CIGNA Corporation’s field litigation office. He remained with the firm for one year, eventually leaving to open his own private practice as a sole practitioner.
Barajas was raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado.