Marcia S. Krieger

Marcia Smith Krieger (born March 3, 1954) is the Chief United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.

Born in Denver, Colorado, Krieger graduated from Lewis and Clark College with her Bachelor's degree in 1975 and later from University of Colorado School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree in 1979.

Following law school graduation, Krieger worked in private practice in Colorado from 1979 to 1994. In 1994 she became a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the District of Colorado where she worked until her nomination to the federal bench in 2002. Krieger was also an Adjunct lecturer for the University of Colorado from 1999 to 2001.

Krieger was nominated to the United States District Court for the District of Colorado by President George W. Bush on September 10, 2001 to a seat vacated Daniel Sparr as Sparr went on senior status. Krieger was confirmed by the Senate on January 25, 2002 on an unopposed Senate vote and received her commission on January 30, 2002. She became Chief Judge on January 1, 2013.

On January 11, 2010 Krieger denied a new trial for former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio's 2007 conviction of insider trading charges. Nacchio's legal team claimed that testimony former Qwest Chief Financial Officer Robin Szeliga gave in a civil lawsuit related to the case differed from testimony given in the criminal trial. Krieger disallowed the request on the basis that the testimony in the civil trial was not substantially different from the criminal trial and that minor differences were unlikely to result in an acquittal.