[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 70 (Thursday, April 22, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E444]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       TRIBUTE TO THE LIFE OF FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE MARY MULLARKEY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DIANA DeGETTE

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2021

  Ms. DeGETTE. Madam Speaker, I rise today, along with Congressman Ed 
Perlmutter, Congressman Jason Crow, and Congressman Joe Neguse, to 
recognize the life and achievements of former Chief Justice of the 
Colorado Supreme Court Mary Mullarkey, who passed away on Wednesday, 
March 31, 2021.
  Mary's journey is a familiar Colorado story. She was born and raised 
elsewhere, in Wisconsin. While there, she graduated from St. Norbert 
College before earning her law degree at Harvard University in 1968. 
After law school, Mary traveled to Washington, D.C. in order to work 
for the Department of the Interior in the agency's equal employment 
opportunity division. Not only did she find the beginning of what would 
become a lengthy and distinguished career in public service, but she 
also found the love of her life, Tom Korson. By 1973, the two had 
married and moved to Denver for what was supposed to be a brief 
``adventure,'' not to exceed two years. However, as the story so often 
goes, they fell in love with Colorado and thankfully decided to make 
our state a permanent home for themselves and eventually for their son 
Andrew.
  As many Coloradans have reflected in the wake of her passing, Mary--
or ``the Chief,'' as she was affectionately known by her former law 
clerks--was a remarkable woman with a brilliant legal career. She 
advised Governors, ran her own law firm, served as our state's 
Solicitor General and led the appellate division in the Colorado 
Attorney General's Office before her appointment to the Colorado 
Supreme Court in 1987. Mary served on the court for 23 years.
  Mary's legacy while serving on this esteemed bench is unmatched. She 
was nominated by her colleagues to be the court's first woman Chief 
Justice in 1998. She served in this capacity for 12 years, and she is 
the court's longest serving chief justice. During her time on the 
Court, Coloradans benefited from her fair and thoughtful decisions. She 
authored more than 470 opinions, including her most memorable case, 
which was a 2002 decision granting land access to descendants of 
Mexican homesteaders in the San Luis Valley after decades of dispute.
  Beyond the courtroom, her reputation as a trailblazer and a tireless 
advocate continued. During her tenure, she accomplished the amazing 
feat of building a new home for the judiciary, the Ralph L. Carr 
Colorado Judicial Center, named for the state's Republican governor who 
opposed the use of internment camps for Japanese individuals during 
World War II. She also expanded access to the courts by hiring 
professional interpreters to break down language barriers for those who 
sought the court's protection. To that same end, she added more jurists 
to resolve more cases and insisted that childcare be provided in 
courthouses so that parents could more easily access the court system.
  When Mary was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, she faced that 
challenge the way she approached life in general--with determination, 
grit, and resolve. My husband Lino and I are honored, along with so 
many others, to call her a friend and role model.
  Truly, the light that Mary cast over once hidden spaces within the 
state's judiciary, over those parents and individuals who sought the 
court's haven, and over those Coloradans who get up and work hard every 
day despite living with a debilitating disease--that light will shine 
as strongly and brilliantly as Mary Mullarkey did for many, many years 
to come. Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family, in particular 
to Tom, Mary's husband of 49 years, as well as to their son Andrew, and 
to all the friends, colleagues, and Coloradans who mourn her loss.

                          ____________________