John W. Suthers is a lifetime resident of Colorado. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Government in 1974 and from the University of Colorado Law School in 1977. From 1977 to 1981, he served as a deputy and chief deputy district attorney in Colorado Springs. In January of 1981, Mr. Suthers entered private practice and became a litigation partner in the Colorado Springs firm of Sparks Dix, P.C. He remained with the firm until November of 1988, when he was elected District Attorney of the Fourth Judicial District. In 1997, he returned to Sparks Dix, P.C. as Senior Counsel in charge of the firm’s litigation section.
In 1999, Gov. Bill Owens appointed Mr. Suthers as the executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections. On July 30, 2001, Mr. Suthers was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be United States Attorney for the District of Colorado. From 2005 to 2014, Mr. Suthers served as Attorney General of Colorado. As Attorney General, he represented and defended the interests of the people of the state of Colorado and was chief legal counsel and adviser to the state government and its many agencies, boards, and commissions.