History

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.
A bronzed statue of lady justice holds her scales aloft while a sword dangles loosely from her other hand.

A Brief History of Colorado’s No-Fault Divorce

In the early 1970s, Colorado adopted a no-fault divorce law alongside roughly 11 other states.
Bodhi is sitting still for an official employee photo with the Denver District Attorney’s Office. He’s a Lab mix and is wearing a green and red striped bowtie and an official looking harness with a staff badge and building ID photo of himself clipped to his harness.

A Brief History of Justice System Dogs

Facility dogs have played a critical role in Colorado courtrooms and prisons for the past 20 years.
Philip Van Cise sits for an official portrait. He is wearing what looks like a three-piece suit and tie with a white collared shirt and a small rectangular collar pin.

Former Denver DA, Colonel, Crimebuster Philip Van Cise

Philip Van Cise was a former Denver DA who fought the hold of organized crime in the city during the Prohibition era.

A Brief History of the Battle of Glorieta Pass

Colorado contributed to a tipping point in the U.S. Civil War before being entangled with the Ku Klux Klan early in its statehood.
Snowmass Village at night. A ski lift is backlit with soft, glowing lights from a ski resort. People are walking around in the foreground and a fresh layer of powdery snow coats the ground and nearby trees.

A Decade of Legal Stress Before Long-Planned Burnt Mountain Ski Expansion

Pitkin County sued once in 1983 and threatened a second suit in 1994 over the expansion of a ski area in Snowmass Village.
a black and white photo shows a bridge overlooking a river with steep looking mountains on either side

The 100-Year-Old South Platte River Compact

The South Platte River Compact is a century old. But what’s actually in the agreement and why is Nebraska looking to invoke it?
former Colorado Gov. Edwin C. Johnson sits for an official photograph

‘Big Ed’s’ 1936 Martial Law Declaration

In 1936, former Colorado Gov. Edwin “Big Ed” Johnson declared martial law in an attempt to close the state’s border with New Mexico.
Police tape

The 1981 Constitutionality Case Against the Second-Degree Murder Statute

In 1981, the state Supreme Court needed to determine if the state’s second-degree murder statute was unconstitutional.