Judge Cross received his law degree from the University of Denver Law School in 1979 after earning an undergraduate degree in 1974 from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He served almost five years as a Denver Deputy District Attorney from 1979 through 1983, followed by 13 years in private practice. He was appointed as a county court judge in August, 1997 and as a district court judge in January, 2009.  Judge Cross is active as a volunteer in the community and served as the President of the Arapahoe County Bar Association in 2006.