D. Richard Toth (Donald Richard Toth)

Background

Donald Richard Toth was born on November 7, 1946, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Adam Toth and Lucy Grace Young Toth. He grew up in the Pikes Peak region and attended Palmer High School, whose alumni association later recognized him in its Hall of Fame.

Colorado Springs was a major regional center for government, military activity, education, and legal services during Toth's formative years. His subsequent career remained closely connected with El Paso County and the broader Colorado judicial system.

Education

Toth graduated from Palmer High School in Colorado Springs in 1964. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Colorado College in 1968. Founded in Colorado Springs in 1874, Colorado College is a liberal-arts institution known for its distinctive block-plan academic calendar.

Toth earned a Juris Doctor from Drake University in 1975. Drake, founded in Des Moines in 1881, developed a substantial legal-education tradition serving Iowa and the surrounding region. His legal education preceded admission to the Colorado bar in 1975 and his entry into judicial service.

Career

Toth began his legal career in 1975 as an attorney with Pikes Peak Legal Services in Colorado Springs. The organization, founded in 1953 as the Legal Aid Society of Colorado Springs, provided legal assistance to people unable to afford private counsel and later became part of Colorado Legal Services. He remained with the organization until 1979 and also served on its board of directors.

From 1979 to 1981, Toth was juvenile commissioner of Colorado's Fourth Judicial District in Colorado Springs. The Fourth Judicial District serves El Paso and Teller counties and includes the judicial institutions serving the Colorado Springs region. In 1981 he became an El Paso County judge, serving until 1987.

Toth became a district judge of the Fourth Judicial District in 1987. Colorado's district courts are courts of general jurisdiction, handling major civil and criminal matters as well as domestic-relations and juvenile proceedings. He was retained in judicial elections during the 1990s and continued on the district court bench until resigning in 2002.

During his judicial career, Toth chaired the Colorado Springs Criminal Justice Advisory Board from 1988 to 1990 and the Jail Overcrowding Committee from 1988 to 1990. He served on the Juvenile Justice Task Force from 1989 and on the Colorado Supreme Court's Criminal Rules Committee from 1988 to 1994. After leaving the bench, he was identified in Colorado state juvenile-justice materials as a retired senior court judge and later worked as a senior judge and mediator in Colorado Springs.

Achievements

• Toth chaired Colorado Springs criminal-justice and jail-overcrowding committees and participated in statewide juvenile-justice and criminal-rules work during his judicial career.

Membership

Toth participated in professional legal and judicial organizations, including the Colorado Bar Association, the El Paso County Bar Association, the Women's Lawyers Association, and the Colorado Council of Juvenile Judges. He was also associated with the Colorado Supreme Court Criminal Rules Committee and community organizations concerned with youth, mental health, legal aid, and juvenile justice.

His organizational work included service on the boards of Pikes Peak Legal Services and Joint Initiatives for Youth and Families, as well as participation in the Colorado Springs Criminal Justice Advisory Board, the Jail Overcrowding Committee, and the Juvenile Justice Task Force. These organizations addressed legal representation, court administration, youth services, and public-safety policy.

• Colorado Bar Association , United States

  1975

• El Paso County Bar Association , United States

• Women's Lawyers Association , United States

• President since 1995.

  Colorado Council of Juvenile Judges , United States

  1995

• Member.

  Colorado Supreme Court Criminal Rules Committee , United States

  1988 - 1994

• Board member.

  Pikes Peak Legal Services , United States

• Board member.

  Joint Initiatives for Youth and Families , United States

  1990

• Chairman.

  Colorado Springs Criminal Justice Advisory Board , United States

  1988 - 1990

• Chairman.

  Jail Overcrowding Committee , United States

  1988 - 1990

• Member.

  Juvenile Justice Task Force , United States

  1989

Interests

• Fly fishing and backpacking.

Connections

Toth is the son of Adam Toth and Lucy Grace Young Toth. He married Susan Christine Holland on June 7, 1968.

His professional connections were centered on Colorado's Fourth Judicial District, Colorado Springs legal-aid institutions, the Colorado Bar, and state and local organizations concerned with juvenile justice and family services.

Father:

Adam Toth

Mother:

Lucy Grace Young Toth

Spouse:

Susan Christine Holland

References

• Colorado Judicial Branch, appointment announcement for David Shakes Documents D. Richard Toth's resignation from the Fourth Judicial District bench in 2002 and identifies his appointment to the bench in 1981.
  2002
• Colorado Judicial Branch, Fiscal Year 2003 Full Report Lists the replacement of D. Richard Toth in the Fourth Judicial District.
  2003
• Colorado Judicial Branch, Commission on Families in Colorado Courts recommendations Identifies Richard Toth as a member of the Commission on Families in Colorado Courts.
  2001
• Colorado Department of Human Services, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Plan and Report Identifies Richard Toth as a retired senior court judge serving on Colorado's Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Council.
  2007
• Colorado Legal Services, organizational history Provides historical context for Pikes Peak Legal Services, the Colorado Springs legal-aid organization with which Toth was associated.
• CSHS-Palmer Alumni Association Hall of Fame Records D. Richard Toth's 1994 Palmer High School Hall of Fame recognition.