Court Judge Mark Thompson Back On Bench After Pleading Guilty To Weapons Charge

SUMMIT COUNTY (CBS4) -- Summit County District Court Judge Mark Thompson returned to the bench in January, days after resolving a felony complaint with a plea deal.

Thompson faced a charge of Felony Menacing in the same jurisdiction in which he previously presided over cases. Prior to the incident, Thompson was the Chief Judge in the 5th Judicial District.

District prosecutors file a felony complaint against Thompson following a weekend incident in July 2021 in which he threatened another person with a gun. The complaint described the weapon as an AR-15 style rifle and Thompson actions as having placed another person in fear of serious bodily injury.

He was placed on planned paid time off in October, according to the Summit Daily.

Thompson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct on Jan. 14. He was sentenced to 12 months unsupervised probation and fines, and the case was closed.

The Summit Daily reported Thompson returned to work four days later, though in a reduced capacity. Thompson resigned as chief judge and is no longer hearing criminal cases.

The Summit Daily also reported that the subject of Thompson's threat was his stepson, and the continuation of anger management classes that Thompson voluntarily initiated was made a requirement of his probation.

Thompson received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver Law School in 1992, according to his biography on the Colorado Judicial Branch's website. He practiced law in Summit County for 18 years before being named District Court Judge in 2010 and Chief Judge in 2013.

Thompson met or exceeded performance standards in all categories of his 2020 review.