[4] Prior to his appointment as a judge, Nottingham was a local coordinator for Bush's 1988 presidential campaign.
[2][6] During his nineteen-year tenure, Nottingham oversaw a number of high-profile cases, such as a copyright infringement case involving Michael Jackson,[7] a ruling barring the State of Colorado from withholding public funds for abortion,[8] a ruling invalidating a law creating a federal "no-call list" for telemarketers[9] which was ultimately overturned,[10] and the prosecution of former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio for insider trading.
[11] Although Nottingham's talent as a jurist was never in serious dispute, the consistency of his work and his judicial temperament were matters of widespread concern.
On the one hand, The Denver Post reported that Nottingham had a reputation for judicial efficiency, and as "one of the best legal minds on the bench".
[3] He received both notoriety and admiration for dressing down witnesses,[3] demanding professionalism from attorneys,[12] and punishing lawyers who brought what he judged to be frivolous cases by scheduling them for hearings at 6 AM.