History

Justice Robert Steele

The Chief Justice Who Opposed Suspension of Habeas Corpus During Colorado Labor Wars

Then-Justice Robert Steele was the only judge to dissent to the suspension of habeas corpus during the Colorado Labor Wars.
A horse is saddled up in front of a fence with green hilly land behind it.

Saddle Up: One of the State’s Oddest Early Internet Legal Battles

A Denver saddle company won a temporary restraining order against a web hosting firm for “manipulating the internet,” according to June 1998 coverage.
an old fashioned looking microphone

The 1937 ‘Microphone Scandal’: When an Attorney, Reporter, Restaurant Inspector Bugged the Governor’s Office

In 1937, a special grand jury convened in Denver to investigate what news outlets called the “Microphone Scandal.”

The Trial of Lauren Watson

In March 1969, as the civil rights movement in the U.S. was in full swing, a chapter was playing out in a Denver courtroom.
A pencil rests on top of a blank notebook page.

To Sue an Almost Assassin’s Therapist

Colorado plaintiffs in 1983 sued the psychiatrist treating John Hinckley Jr. at the time of his attempted assassination of former Pres. Ronald Reagan.
bright yellow crime scene tape is stark against a dark background

James Genrich to Get a New Trial in 1991 Pipe Bombing Case

A judge on July 10 ordered a new trial for James Genrich, who was convicted in 1993 of detonating pipe bombs in Grand Junction.

Vanderhoof’s Push for Vietnam Veterans

Former Gov. John Vanderhoof in January 1974 requested the state legislature review a bill that would waive half the in-state tuition for qualifying Vietnam-era veterans.
A thunderstorm is brewing over Coors Field during a Colorado Rockies game.

Root, Root, Root, for the Legal Teams?

The Colorado Rockies baseball team celebrates its 30-year anniversary this year, but the team has an interesting legal history too.
Four historical buildings are scattered across an open-looking plain.

‘Female Furies,’ a Brief History of Juvenile Detention Facilities

Funding, operational and organizational issues plagued both the courts and the facilities for roughly a century.
Becky Redecker

1993 Remains of Becky Redecker Identified

The remains of Becky Redecker found in 1993 were identified in August 2020 by Douglas County investigators but her cause of death remains undetermined.