Serving nearly two decades as a Colorado judge, John P. Leopold announced his retirement on Aug. 25 that will be effective Oct. 31.

Leopold currently serves as the district judge for the 18th Judicial District in Colorado, which covers Douglas, Arapahoe, Elbert and Lincoln counties. He was appointed chief judge of the 18th Judicial District in 2002.

When asked about why he is retiring now, Leopold replied, "19 years? That's enough, I think. For me, this job continues to be a privilege. It's been a challenging 19 years and I've had a lot of significant cases."

One of the most highly publicized cases that Leopold presided over was the Nathan Dunlap case. Dunlap was convicted in 1996 for the December 1993 murder of four people at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora. The jury in that case sentenced Dunlap to death.

While that case made big headlines, Leopold also stressed the importance of probate, probation revocation and mental health cases he serves as a judge on.

"The measure of our ability to serve well is how well we treat those people and meet their needs," Leopold said about working with probate and mental health cases. "And I hope I've done that."

Leopold has strong east coast ties. He was born in New York and grew up in Bucks County, Penn. "The place where Washington crossed the delta," he said.

Leopold first became interested in law in 1964 when he visited a friend in Boston. His friend was attending Harvard Law School and after a look around, Leopold decided that's what he wanted to do.

"It was true serendipity," he said.

He attended Colby College in Waterville, Maine, in 1968. During that time, the Vietnam War was in full force and Leopold said he took "an enforced vacation" with the U.S. Air Force. He traveled around the South Pacific, visiting places like Thailand and Okinawa.

Leopold said he was glad he signed up for duty before the draft lottery was set in place around 1969.

"I remember watching on television people doing the draft lottery," he said. "They drew birthdays out of a fishbowl and my birthday was the first one they drew."

Leopold enjoyed traveling and meeting all the people throughout those parts of the world. The judge still enjoys traveling. He and his wife, Terry, took a 15-day trip in Italy in May. Leopold studies Italian and considers himself "serviceable" when it comes to communicating.

Leopold said he would continue to serve as a senior trial judge for about 60 days after his final day in the 18th Judicial District.

In addition to being a judge, Leopold is also involved with the University of Denver Law Alumni Council. Leopold received his law degree in 1974 from what is now called the DU Sturm College of Law. Leopold said he is pretty active with his fellow alumni and the council is working to improve the bar passage rate at the college.

"The good Lord has treated me well," Leopold said. "I hope I've done well here, both as a chief judge and a district judge. This is not 'my' courtroom - I'm entitled. I consider myself a fortunate man."