Jefferson County District Court, Place 2

Maria Fortune

Democrat

Hometown: Vestavia Hills

Political experience: Appointed to the Jefferson County District Court bench after Judge Shanta Owens left for the Circuit Court bench; currently presides over Drug Court in the Criminal Division.

Professional experience: Started her career as a deputy public defender in Colorado before joining the Denver City Attorney’s Office. In 2008, she founded her own law firm in Birmingham, where she has worked for 14 years, specializing in family, domestic relation and criminal law. 

Civic experience: Serves on the board of the Jefferson County Family Resource Center; previously served as president of the Criminal Justice Section of the Birmingham Bar Association and was a member of the Jefferson County Indigent Defense Advisory Committee; teaches Sunday school at Living Stones Temple. 

Education: Bachelor’s degree, University of Northern Colorado, 2000; law degree, University of Denver College of Law, 2004. 

Main issues: Fortune has previously written than her goal in practicing law is to seek justice for families and children. She has also spoken about the importance of the drug court’s work in rehabilitating nonviolent drug offenders by giving them a chance to address their addiction and to have their charges dismissed from their record. Fortune told the Vestavia Voice in 2019 that she is passionate about informing people about Jefferson County’s opioid epidemic and educating parents on how to avoid drug usage with their children.    

Campaign: https://www.keepjudgefortune.com/