Patrick J. "Pat" Burke

During 40+ years of practicing law, Pat has handled almost every conceivable type of civil, criminal or administrative matter. He has been involved in government investigations, grand jury matters, malpractice cases (legal and medical), securities fraud and anti-trust cases.

Pat served as the Assistant City Attorney in Lakewood, Colorado from 1973-1974, the Assistant Attorney General for the State of Colorado from 1975-1978 and an Assistant Federal Public Defender for the District of Colorado from 1979-1981.

Pat has a history of taking on the toughest cases as a result of court appointments. Pat began doing death penalty work in 1988 when he was appointed to represent a death-sentenced inmate in Texas. Pat has been actively involved in death penalty litigation since then. In 1988, Pat was awarded the Denver Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyer of the Year as a result of his representation of Richard Scutari, who was one of the defendants in the federal criminal trial arising out of the murder of talk show host Alan Berg. Pat was appointed to represent Richard Scutari by Judge Richard Matsch. Scutari was acquitted at trial.

20 years later, in 2008, Pat was the recipient of the Jonathan Olom Award, which is the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar’s highest honor. The general criterion for the award is “remarkable personal sacrifice made without regard to personal gain in the defense of the accused.” Factors considered by the nominating committee include a willingness to defend an accused without regard to public sentiment or personal advancement, as well as professional excellence displayed in the face of adversity.

Pat served on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar from 1985-1988 and was the President of the Criminal Defense Bar in 1987-1988. Pat has been a member of the U.S. District Court, Criminal Justice Act Panel since 1983. He served on the CJA Standing Committee in 1998-2000. He was Chairman of the CJA Standing Committee from 1999-2000. Pat was reappointed to the CJA Standing Committee in 2010 and is still serving on the CJA Standing Committee.