2011 March

Docket The

Denver Bar Association I Vol. 33 Issue 3 I March 2011

Inside The Path to a Posthumous Pardon

by Nicole M. Mundt

Riding for the Wheels of Justice

by Dennis Kaw

Dancing with the Bar Stars

by Sara Crocker

A Flight Through

the Philippines Marshall Snider shares his experiences teaching and traveling in the Asian island nation.

Docket The

Denver Bar Association I Vol. 33 Issue 3 I March 2011

ON THE COVER 4

A Visit to the Philippines

6

Riding for the Wheels of Justice

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Dancing with the Bar Stars

16

The Path to a Posthumous Pardon

FEATURES 8

Republicans Rediscover the Constitution

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Tyrone Glover, Barrister Samurai

11 15 20

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14

C

M

Y

Wellness Brief: Diagnosing Dependency

CM

My Maiden Name: Till Death do us Part?

MY

Where Spider Woman Dwells

CMY

CY

K

IN EVERY ISSUE 26

Legal Affairs

28

Dates on the Denver Docket

30

Picture This

The Docket A publication of the Denver Bar Association.

Views expressed in articles reflect the views of the author, not the views of the authors’ employers, The Docket Committee, or the Denver Bar Association, unless expressly stated. Deadline for articles is five weeks prior to the issue date; for example, February articles are due (on disk or by e-mail) Dec. 19. To advertise, call Alexa Drago at (303) 824-5313.

Docket Committee: Mariya Barmak, Norman Beecher, Becky Bye, Michael J. Decker, Craig C. Eley, David L. Erickson, Loren R. Ginsburg, Robert J. Kapelke, Paul F. Kennebeck, Natalie Lucas (chair), Alicia J. McCommons, Daniel R. McCune, Douglas I. McQuiston, William R. Meyer, Eric R. Newmark, Richard L. Ott, Jr., Siddhartha H. Rathod, Gregory D. Rawlings, Frank J.

2 The Docket I March 2011

20

16 Schuchat, Marshall A. Snider, Daniel A. Sweetser, Erica Vargas, Anthony J. Viorst, Dennis P. Walker, Elizabeth A. Weishaupl DBA Officers: Stacy A. Carpenter, President; Ilene L. Bloom, President-Elect; Daniel R. McCune, First Vice President; Kwali M. Farbes, Second Vice President; John T. Baker, Immediate Past President; Richard Strauss, Treasurer; Board of Trustees members: James G. Benjamin, Paul Chessin, Nancy L. Cohen, Michelle B. Ferguson, Valerie A. Garcia, Annie T. Kao, Vance O. Knapp, Meshach Rhoades, Anthony M. Ryan, Daniel A. Sweetser. Chuck Turner, Executive Director Editor: Sara Crocker P.C. Editor: Chuck Turner Graphic Designer: Kate Mills

(303) 860-1115 www.denbar.org/docket Copyright 2011. The Docket (ISSN 10847820) is published monthly, except for the combined issue of July/August, by the Denver Bar Association, 1900 Grant St., Suite 900, Denver, CO 80203-4336. All rights reserved.

The price of an annual subscription to members of the DBA ($15) is included in their dues as part of their membership. Periodicals postage paid at Denver, CO and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER send address corrections to The Docket, Denver Bar Association, 1900 Grant St., Suite 900, Denver, CO 80203-4336.

March 2011 I The Docket 3

Sunset on Saud Beach near the northern Luzon town of Pagudpud.

A Flight Through

the

Philippine Islands (Without an Umbrella)

Saint Paul Cathedral in the town of Vigan, in the provin ce of Ilocos Sur. B y M arsh all S nide r

U

mbrellas don’t fly in the Philippine Islands.

Well, they really don’t fly anywhere, unless you’re Mary Poppins, but in the Philippines, this statement must be taken literally.

On a recent trip to this Southeast Asian nation of more than 7,000 islands, my umbrella was confiscated at the security check for a domestic flight. I have taken an umbrella through security in airports all over the world, but this was the first time I was told that an umbrella was an implement of destruction and could not board an airplane.

4 The Docket I March 2011

Umbrella seizure was not my only unique experience in the Philippines.

I traveled to the capitol city of Manila on behalf of the U.S. Agenc y for International Development and the National Judicial College to train government electric utility regulators and utility company employees in dispute resolution techniques. At first blush, this appeared to be a challenging task: how do you teach the “Getting to Yes” concept of negotiation and mediation in a culture in which the word “yes” can have a variety of meanings, ranging from “OK” to “I’ll think about it” to “I don’t want to disappoint you, so I’ll say yes, but really,

there’s no bloody way?”

My fear of these cultural challenges turned out to be ill-founded. The Philippine people I dealt with were quite attuned to Western concepts of dispute resolution. They have a marvelous sense of humor, so the feeble jokes and cartoons I used to illustrate various teaching points were well received. (When I tried to describe who Calvin and Hobbes were—to introduce a cartoon that made a point about compromise—the audience immediately stopped my explanation.

“Calvin and Hobbes” appears in their morning newspaper, just as here.)

Filipinos also love to act—all of the

role-plays they engaged in during the training were conducted with gusto and drama, with the hearty support, appropriate laughter, and applause from the rest of the group.

To add to my comfort level, Filipinos are without doubt the most polite and accommodating people I have ever met. My wife and I were greeted respectfully ever ywhere we went with a melodious “Good morning, sir” or “Good afternoon, ma’am” constantly hitting our ears (“ma’am” was pronounced “mom,” making us wonder whose mother they were constantly greeting). Everyone is addressed by a title, such as “Engineer Reyes” or “Attorney Lucero.”

If I did not have a specific professional title, I would have been called “Sir Marshall,” regardless of the absence of a knighthood by some queen. ¿Habla Español?

An interesting aspect of the work in Manila was the Spanish names of the participants. In a country where Spanish is not spoken, I was looking at a room full of Asian people with names like Alberto Martínez, Federico Reyes, and Maria Corazón Gutierrez. Spanish colonial rule in these islands ended in 1898, but with the exception of a few words that have crept into the national language of Tagalog, Spanish is not spoken in the Philippines. Still, people, street names, and geographic places retain their Spanish appellations. Sitting in an outdoor café on cobblestoned Avenida de los Reyes in Vigan, a northern Philippine city with some of the country’s best remaining examples of Spanish colonial architecture, we had to constantly remind ourselves that we were not in Mexico or Central America.

This absence of the Spanish language

is an interesting facet of Philippine culture. Despite more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule, and less than 50 years as a colony of the United States, English is the official language of government, business, and education.

Although most people speak Tagalog or a regional dialect as a first language, they intersperse their conversation with English words in an entertaining fashion.

It is not unusual to hear two Filipinos conversing, with one sentence in Tagalog, the next in English, and the third sentence combining the two languages.

Television and print advertisements provide classic examples of this linguistic mix. For example, a billboard advertising international telephone service was primarily in Tagalog, but in the middle it announced in English that calls were “As low as 2.50 pesos per minute” (that’s right, the currency is still the peso).

Skip the Food, Take a Ride The absence of spoken Spanish is not the only way to remind yourself that you are not in Mexico. Just try the local food. Ever notice that among all the delicious foreign cuisines available in the United States, you never see a Filipino restaurant? There are many lovely aspects to visiting these islands, but food is not one of them. After sampling several Filipino dishes our first few days in Manila, we reverted to pizza, burgers, and Thai food.

Modes of transportation are another clue that this is not Mexico. In smaller cities, a few horse-drawn carts take the place of taxis, but the major form of public transport is the tricycle. No, this is not your kid’s three-wheeler—it is a motorcycle or human-powered bicycle with a very tiny side car. Getting two average-sized Westerners like my wife and me into one of these things, (along with our packs) was akin to a thousand circus clowns getting into a Volkswagen Beetle; even without luggage it was a tight squeeze. Still, you can travel the length of a small town for less than a

dollar.

In larger cities, the jeepney keeps people moving. T his contraption combines the front end of a World War II-era Jeep with a pickup truck bed, with bench seats along the sides.

Each jeepney is brightly painted in its own unique design and theme—it is as if there are thousands of mobile art exhibits cruising the streets of Manila.

Jeepneys provide cheap, if crowded, transportation throughout Philippine cities. Given the constant gridlock and resultant aggressive driving in Manila, it is humorous to see the “How’s My Driving?” sign painted on the back of every jeepney (with a telephone number that I’m guessing will never be answered).

The geography of the Philippines is as varied as the languages. Whether your preference is for mountains, volcanoes, white sand beaches, rice terraces, or mega malls in crowded cities, it’s all there. The culture, people, architecture, language, and physical beauty of this country make for a unique travel experience. D

A jeepney near Lake Taal and the Taal Volcano, near the town of Tagaytay—about 35 miles south of Manila.

Horse-drawn carriages in Vigan, outside of Saint Paul Cathedral.

March 2011 I The Docket 5

Difficult Climbs, Exhilarating Descents, and the Road Ahead

A First Timer’s Trek in the Courage Classic

Courtesy The Children’s Hospital.

Volunteers offer low-fives and medals to riders who crossed the finish line at the 2010 Courage Classic.

B y D ennis K aw

A

s my lungs gasped for air and my legs burned b e yo n d t h e p o i n t o f exhaustion, I heard the welcoming sounds of bells ringing. The finish line was in sight and it marked the end of my inaugural threeday, 157-mile Courage Classic journey.

Sheer adrenaline pushed my bike and beer-bellied self past the finish line. I then stopped as a young girl with flowers in her hair and the biggest smile on her face put a commemorative medal around my neck. As I selfishly basked in the glow of personal accomplishment that poured through me, I suddenly realized that for the young girl who put the medal around my neck and for many of her friends at The Children’s Hospital, the finish line in their personal journeys to overcome their illnesses was not always guaranteed.

Riding the Courage Classic is an

6 The Docket I March 2011

inspiring experience that cannot be adeteam of patients and their families crossquately described in words; yet, it’s an ing the finish line. experience that will forever change your Like past years, I had no intention perception of what it means to be charito ride last year. After all, the last time I A Wheels of Justice Cycling Team member rides in the Courage Classic. table. I didn’t have to ride to know that rode a bike was when Vice President Dan The Children’s Hospital cares for children Quayle was learning how to spell potato. with serious illnesses or that the Wheels So, I thought, there was no way I could of Justice Cycling Team raises hundreds possibly ride 157 miles, let alone climb of thousands of dollars for the hospital. I Vail Pass. But I did it. In the process I also didn’t have to ride to donate money learned the proverbial life lesson—if to this good cause. However, I did have you don’t try you will never succeed. It’s to ride to learn that the Courage Classic a lesson each patient at The Children’s is symbolic of the difficult journey that Hospital must live each and every day. children with illnesses fight on a daily I wish I could tell you that my decibasis—illnesses that no child should ever sion to ride stemmed from my desire be made to battle. to help the children. It did not. I rode Like the children, riders experience because I met some very fit, beautiful difficult climbs, exhilarating descents, women who were going to ride. In the and the seemingly endless struggle with hazy moment of testosterone-induced the road ahead. Along the way, a commustupidity that followed, I bought a bike nity of strangers, volunteers, and other and signed up with the Wheels of Justice. riders encourage each rider to finish.

I then trained, embarrassed myself mulAt the end of the ride, the entire expetiple times, and ultimately got nowhere rience is put into proper perspective by with the women who motivated me to the emotional sight of Team Courage—a ride. Nonetheless, my irrational deci-

sion to take the Courage Classic journey allowed me to experience, in a very small way, the struggle these children face every day. This experience has forever changed my perception of what it means to be charitable. D In addition to riding for the Wheels of Justice Cycling Team, Dennis Kaw is General Counsel for Appliance Factory Outlet™.

Members and supporters of the Wheels of Justice Cycling Team presented a $1 million check to The Children’s Hospital on Oct. 21 at the team’s appreciation party. The $1 million was raised in five years by the team.

Courtesy The Children’s Hospital.

The Wheels of Justice Cycling Team is one of many teams that participates in the Courage Classic.

Join the Wheels of Justice

by H e at he r P urcell Find fun, friends, fitness, and fulfillment—all while supporting The Children’s Hospital Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders (CCBD).

In our first five years of riding in the Courage Classic Bicycle Tour, the Wheels of Justice cycling team has raised more than $1 million for The Children’s Hospital. In 2011, we hope to add at least $250,000 more to that total for the CCBD. Please visit wheelsofjusticecycling. org for more information on team training rides, parties, clinics, and other activities. Lawyers and non-lawyers are welcome, as are cyclists of all ability levels.

Below is a note from Dr. Tom Smith of The Children’s Hospital’s CCBD:

All of us at the CCBD would like to thank the Wheels of Justice team for their hard training for the Courage Classic and all of your fundraising efforts. We know many of you have a lot of briefs to file, motions to extend, and Yellow Pages ads to prepare, so we thank you for your efforts.

All joking aside, your support for CCBD is incredibly important and very timely. We are making huge progress in the fight against pediatric cancer, almost on a yearly basis. It’s an exciting time for our field and for the children. And CCBD, right here in the Denver–Aurora area, is one of the country’s primary leaders in both basic science and clinical research. I would love to have you meet Peyton. He’s a 5-year-old from Park Hill, diagnosed with Philadelphia positive leukemia. If he had been diagnosed 15 years ago, when I started out, I don’t think

he would still be alive. Now, because of recent treatment advances, he is on oral medications only and, for all practical purposes, a normal kid who just started kindergarten in the fall.

Our clinic is full of amazing stories like this—of Colorado and Rocky Mountain region kids benefitting from your hard work. Because of the importance of what you are doing, there has been a groundswell of support at CCBD for the Wheels of Justice team. Many of the doctors (myself included), nurses, spouses, patients’ parents, and friends rode with WOJ in 2010, and we all enjoyed the experience. In 2011, we hope to see some of our survivors ride, too. I see your efforts growing and growing.

Thank you for all your support and commitment,

—Tom

March 2011 I The Docket 7

Republicans Rediscover the Constitution— Are They Sure About That?

by D oug McQ uist on

T

he results of last November’s midterm elections were epic. Nancy Pelosi and her Gulfstream V are out. House Speaker John Boehner and his commercial coach flights back to Ohio are in.

Plus ça change…

Last November, our runaway government ran smack into the same wall it has seen before: the voters and their fear of a government big enough to take everything they have. Most of the new GOP Congress members rode to power on the strength of a conservative, Tea Party friendly message of less government, lower spending, and a return to “constitutional first principles.” Many actually seem like true believers, but time will tell.

At least they’re starting to ask the right question, one that has fallen out of favor over the last 60 years or so: “Exactly where in the Constitution did we, the People, grant the federal government the power to do that?!” New House rules will require all proposed legislation to contain a detailed citation to its precise constitutional authority.

But this new respect for the Constitution, like everything else in politics, has two sides. The overreaching and excessive government spending and growth

8 The Docket I March 2011

that spawned the Tea Party cannot be laid solely at the foot of the Democratic Party. Indeed, most of the biggest power-grabs (and the freest spending), in the previous two administrations were Republican in origin. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA); No Child Left Behind (NCLB); the Orwellian Department of Homeland Security (DHS), whose name even now gives me the creeps; Medicare prescription drug coverage; federally guaranteed, ridiculously easy mortgage money shoveled into the economy by federally backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; cozy, rent-seeking deals with Wall Street investment bankers and Texas oilmen; government subsidies in farming, manufacturing, and natural resources; and the TARP bank bailout were all GOP-sponsored bad ideas. I heard no mention then about the limits of constitutional power before any of these ideas became law.

In the “Through the Looking Glass” world that was the last two decades, it was Democrat Bill Clinton who said “the era of Big Government is over” and Republican George W. Bush who set records for government spending and created the largest, least efficient, and most alarmingly freedom-threatening agency ever to exist in America: DHS. Of course, the Democrats aren’t blameless for that behemoth, either, since DHS was their idea, proposed as a way to look like they were “doing something” after the 9/11 attacks. The truth is that both sides of the aisle in Congress have seemed to have lost their copies of the Constitution over the last two decades.

That’s why I am particularly happy to see that the GOP finally dusted off its copies of the Constitution, and gave it a

quick read during the campaign. Maybe we will see legislation this term repealing DOMA, abolishing DHS, retiring NCLB, and reversing the other power-grabs of the last Republican presidency.

Or, maybe not.

You see, like everything else in politics, what started out as a slogan to attract Tea Party voters—with their “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadsden flags and “We Want our Constitution Back” signs—must now make the hard turn into a governing philosophy. Those Tea Party-backed candidates could always count on rousing applause when they told their crowds that the Constitution does not grant Congress the power to make us buy health insurance; but what would we hear if they told their next town hall audience about some of the other “core principles” of limited federal government held by our Founders? Perhaps our incoming Congress members should dust off another piece of writing, The Federalist Papers.

They should be careful, though. Let’s imagine what that might look like. Here’s our earnest young freshman GOP Congressman, striding to the front of the room at the next town hall meeting, his copy of the Federalist Papers under his right arm: “The people, through their Constitution, did not delegate to the federal government the power to ban handguns or mandate the purchase of health insurance!” He pauses, to bask in the applause. “But I just read the Federalist Papers—I now know that it also granted no power to Congress to mandate prayers in state public schools!” We hear the sound of crickets chirping, and nervous shifting in seats.

Undaunted, he continues: “The Constitution does not give the federal government the power to use taxpayer money to favor one business or industry over another, or pick winners and losers in the private sector! Nor does it Republicans, continued on page 29

March 2011 I The Docket 9

Meet Tyrone Glover, Barrister Samurai

Mixed Martial Artist Proves Himself a Fierce Opponent Inside the Octagon and in the Courtroom

by Dami an S t one and Hon. K e rry Hada

F

ive years ago, Tyrone Glover walked away from a promising fighting career in mixed martial arts (MMA). Although it was early in his fighting career, Glover had already amassed an impressive résumé that included a black belt in Brazilian Jujitsu (BJJ); an undefeated record while fighting in the Japanese PRIDE Fighting Championships; BJJ American National Champion; and winning the BJJ Pan American Championships, the So Cal Pro AM, and Brian Cimins’ Grapplers Quest West and East.

Although Glover enjoyed competing in mixed martial arts, he wanted to pursue another goal for which he had an equal amount of passion: a career in the legal profession. In 2006, Glover moved from California to attend the University of Colorado Law School, where he earned his juris doctor, as well as awards for his trial advocacy skills. After graduation, Glover served as an extern for Judge

Jerry Jones in the Colorado Court of Appeals. Currently, Glover is an associate at Shepherd Law Group P.C., where he focuses on business and corporate law.

Even though he had not competed in five years, Tyrone still had “the itch” to test his mettle in the confines of the Octagon. Thus, on Nov. 12, Glover returned to the Octagon in an event denominated as “The Professionals,” a fight card that included 12 bouts between professional fighters from throughout the country.

The level of skill displayed by the fighters that evening was on par with anything you might witness in any other MMA venue in the country. After receiving the invitation to participate in this event, Glover spent several months preparing.

His fight was the headlining event, billed as the “Super Fight of the Night” against seasoned MMA fighter Nick Buschman. At the start of the fight, Glover came out aggressively and showed no signs of ring rust. The fighters circled each other and exchanged feints to probe for a weakness in their opponent’s defenses. They then closed the distance

and exchanged several flurries of strikes before Glover took the fight to the ground. Once on the ground, Glover was in his element and controlled the flow of the fight, raining down punches and other strikes on Buschman to soften his defenses. Eventually, Glover transitioned into a full mount of Buschman, allowing Glover to obtain an arm bar on Buschman. Rather than suffer a broken arm, Buschman tapped out and Glover won by submission in the first round. Post-fight, Buschman indicated to the ringside official that Glover had broken Buschman’s jaw; however, Buschman fought through this injury until Glover won at 4:20 in the first round.

Since that fight, Glover remains an undefeated MMA fighter. Because he has not fully satisfied “the itch,” he intends to participate in more MMA competitions over the next year. To the benefit of his clients, Glover also will continue to bring the discipline and ferociousness he developed while training in MMA to a courtroom or boardroom near you. D

Tyrone Glover spars in the Octagon and the courtroom.

10 The Docket I February March 2011 2011

Wellness Brief

Use or Abuse? Diagnosing Dependency

by MINE S & A ss o ci ate s

D

ependence on alcohol or other drugs is a widespread problem.

Many times, people don’t even recognize or realize it. Chemical dependency is simply the inability to control the use of some physical substance—not being able to quit and not being able to limit how much is used. If you have a dependency problem, recognizing it can help you to move toward a happier and healthier life.

Myths You might think of a chemically dependent person as someone who can’t live without their drink or drugs, who is often drunk or stoned, who uses every day, or is irresponsible, immoral, weakwilled or troubled. The fact is, a person can be chemically dependent without showing such obvious signs. We are gradually beginning to realize that a person’s genetic makeup may affect his or her chances of becoming dependent, and that dependency is often a physical condition that can’t be cured by willpower alone.

Symptoms of Dependency Here are some signs that might indicate a chemical dependency problem in you or someone you love: • trying to cut down on or to quit using

some substance and failing at it • “blackouts,” or lapses of memory after use • using the substance while alone or hiding the evidence of use • using the substance to forget about problems or worries • doing things while “under the influence” that cause regret afterward • not being able to enjoy an event without the substance • neglecting responsibilities in order to use the substance • family, friends, or employer expressing concern about substance use • being willing to do almost anything to get the substance • financial or legal problems from using the substance Problems Caused by Dependency Chemically dependent people often act unwisely or inappropriately while under the influence of their drug. They may act in ways that will embarrass them later. They may endanger their health and lives, and the lives of others, by having unsafe sex or by driving while intoxicated. They may lose their jobs or families as people around them are hurt by their actions.

What to Do Recognizing that there’s a problem

is the first step toward recovering from chemical dependency. If you think you might have a problem of this type, here are some steps you can take: • Acknowledge the problem openly.

• Limit time spent with people who encourage drug use or drinking.

• Seek professional help from doctors or therapists who deal with chemical dependency and recovery. You might benefit from counseling or a recovery program at a hospital or private clinic.

• Seek the support of people who are recovering themselves. Many 12-step programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, are available for various types of dependencies. Your employee assistance program can help you find these and other helpful resources, or you can find local resources in your phone book or online. D Published as part of MINES & Associates’ 2011 Wellness Theme, “Discovering Your Best Self ” and available at MINES. PersonalAdvantage.com. Original published by Wellness Library Health Ink and Vitality Communications ©2010.

Confidential assistance is available to attorneys at cobar.org. Select “For Lawyers” from the left-hand navigation. Then, select “Confidential Assistance for Attorneys” from the listed links.

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March 2011 I The Docket 13

Meet the Bar Stars Dancers

Ciancio

F

Moye

our attorneys will be competing outside the courtroom at the Barristers Benefit Ball for a “Dancing with the Stars”-like competition. They will be paired with professional dancers and perform their own routine, going head-to-head in a dance-off at Barristers Benefit Ball. The ball will be held at the Grand Hyatt Denver on April 30. Tickets can be purchased at cobar.org/bball. The event benefits the Denver Bar Association’s Metro Volunteer Lawyers.

The Bar Stars Dancers spoke with The Docket about dancing, the competition, and Barristers. The Docket will feature the interviews of two of the dancers this month and two in April’s issue.

The Low-Down on the Dancers Cyndy Ciancio is a shareholder of Donelson Ciancio and Goodwin, P.C., and is leader of its Family Law Group. She also serves as secretary for the Colorado Bar Association’s Family Law Section.

John Moye is a partner at Moye White and practices in its transaction section. Moye has received the Outstand-

14 The Docket I March 2011

ing Young Lawyer of the Year award from the Colorado Bar Association and DBA, and was recognized with the CBA’s highest honor, the Award of Merit, in 2005.

He served as CBA president during 2002– 2003.

Docket: Why did you want to be one of the dancing Bar Stars?

Ciancio: In the past, I was an MVL board member, and have always been dedicated to helping MVL. My partner, Loren Brown, is the MVL Vice-Chair, and mentioned that I would be a good fit. I thought it would be a great opportunity to help support MVL. Moye: Because I think I can do a great job—mostly because I got talked into it by a very persuasive member of the [Barristers Benefit Ball] committee who suggested that it would be a good opportunity for me to show off all my dancing skills.

D: What are you doing to prepare for the competition?

Ciancio: I will be training with the professional dancer. Also, our in-house business development director happens to be a former dance instructor, so she will be helping me with my moves.

Moye: I have developed a complete workout regimen that will hopefully give me the stamina to be able to manage however many minutes we have to do this.

I fully intend to incorporate some very traditional and excitingly creative steps, which I hope my professional dance partner will agree with me is a good thing to do.

D: Do you think your lawyering skills will come in handy when you perform?

Ciancio: Yes. Hard work and determination, and that little part of me that says, “I am capable of anything.”

Moye: Absolutely. I’m a transactional lawyer, so control is one of my big issues.

I think that applies in dancing, as well.

So, I’m hopeful that I won’t have to talk my way through it, but if I have to, I think I pretty well would be able to do that, too.

D: What will your performance have that will blow away the competition?

Ciancio: You will just have to wait and see because I cannot divulge my trade secrets.

Moye: My outfit. I have to have a special outfit designed for this occasion and I can’t really say what it will be, but it will be impressive.

D: How would you describe your dancing style and ability?

Ciancio: I would say I’m more of a chacha-cha than a foxtrot or waltz, in terms of style. As far as ability, we’ll see!

Moye: Historically, I’ve been a traditional dancer—the foxtrot, the waltz. When the music is right, I’m an expert at the South Dakota scissor bop. It’s a dance that you’ll only find in South Dakota, by jumping up and down and moving your legs back and forth. It is a really stupid-looking dance, but I am good at it.

D: When was the last time you went dancing?

Ciancio: At our company Christmas party. … I would say it was disco dancing and I did not have a partner.

Moye: Last month. I attend almost every gala that will allow me to attend and I dance my heart out.

D: For those who haven’t bought their ticket to Barristers yet, why do you think they should come?

Ciancio: MVL is an amazing organization, and during this time of economic hardships, we as lawyers have an obligation to step up to support this organization and the clients it serves.

This year’s theme is going to be so much fun—how often do you get an opportunity to watch your fellow colleagues get up and compete in a physical way?

Moye: This is an occasion not to miss.

This will probably be the only time you will ever see the Bar Stars making fools of themselves. It really will be a spectacle. D Interviews conducted, condensed, and edited by Sara Crocker. Read the full interviews at denbar.org/docket.

My Maiden Name: Till Death do us Part?

B y Beck y B y e

W

hen I was barely a toddler, my parents divorced. While the divorce was probably traumatic, I am lucky to recollect only a small portion of those moments. I have more memories of relentlessly chasing the neighborhood cats and trying to keep them in the townhome my mother and I temporarily occupied. To my chagrin, I was not allowed to kidnap the neighbor’s cats. For those few early catless years of my life, my official legal name was Becky Kolomensky.

Two years later, my mom remarried and my new father legally adopted me.

Soon thereafter, at the age of 6, my name changed to Becky Bye. When we received the final, official adoption papers, it was bittersweet. I was relieved to share the same name as the rest of the family; however, I also resented the new name, because other children at school often teased me about it on the playground. Of course, rarely did any child escape from arbitrary teasing between the ages of 5 and 15, but nonetheless, I was teased.

I still remember children saying, “Bye, Becky Bye” or “Becky Bye-Bye” or “ByeBye Becky” in a mocking tone.

Besides the name calling, I grew frustrated with the rest of my name. My legal name was Becky Bye. Not Rebecca. No middle name. Just Becky Bye. My mother never provided a satisfying reason for overlooking a middle name and choosing a first name more commonly used as a nickname.

Often, when I had to write or state my full legal name, people emphasized that I needed my full legal name, as if I did not understand instructions. At my high school, college, and law school graduations, I grew envious of the long, eloquent formal names the emcee would call, followed by a short-lived pronunciation of my three-syllable, eight-lettered full name.

I never seriously pondered chang-

ing my name until I became engaged.

I realized that I had grown to love it more than I ever admitted. I felt that my name sounded perky, unique, concise, and quirky—in many ways, a reflection of myself. It was a name that remained with me for every major milestone of my life: the name on my school diplomas; the name associated with articles in my school newspapers; the name used on the masthead of law school journals; the name used in pleadings and briefs; the name on my passport used for lifechanging international travels; the name I displayed in the byline for my articles in The Docket—a name I have written and spoken thousands of times and that I associate with my personal growth and identity.

As an adult, compliments on my name replaced the teasing I previously endured. When I use a credit card or introduce myself, people often compliment my “unique” and “fun” name.

Of course, I was surprised when my fiancé assumed I would change my last name to his. Early in our engagement, he sweetly observed that getting married would finally provide me with a middle name, as my maiden name could become my middle name. While having a threeword name sounded appealing, the new name would not have the same ring.

Perhaps if I married earlier, my sentiment would be different. I would not feel so attached to my name and its association with my life’s milestones. To argue my point to my future husband, I posed the situation to him from another perspective—I took his arguments about having the “same last name” and provided him the

option to change his last name to “Bye.” He realized that he was just as attached to his name as I was to mine.

Thus, he resolved Bye to marry the person he fell in love with, “Becky Bye.” Today, many women, par ticularly lawyers, keep their names when they marry for the same reasons. Others change their name or hyphenate.

Occasionally, I see New York Times wedding announcements where a husband changes his last name to his wife’s or couples change both their last names to a hybrid or completely different last name.

Regardless, I am glad to see that both parties in a marriage can tailor to their own needs and beliefs. I have my reasons for keeping my last name, and others have equally valid reasons for changing theirs.

We are lucky to live in a time and a society where the fate of a last name stems from a personal decision, and not antiquated traditions derived in a time where women were regarded as chattel.

Also, I did eventually get cats through legal means. They share my last name. My husband was more than happy to let them keep their last name; he’s more of a dog person. D

March 2011 I The Docket 15

‘The Last Link in the Chain’

Denver Attorney Works for Pardon of Man Wrongly Convicted of Murder B y N icole M. M und t

O

n Jan. 6, 1939, Joe Arridy, a 23-year old man with an IQ of 46, who was said to have the mind of a child between the ages of 4 and 6, was executed by the State of Colorado for a murder that evidence indicated he did not commit. He ate only ice cream for his last three meals and passed his time on death row smiling and playing with toy trains.

Through what can only be described as fate, David A. Martínez, a local Colorado attorney, learned of Arridy’s story in 2007. Shortly thereafter, he became what he refers to as “the last link in the chain” when he submitted the petition for Arridy’s pardon. On Jan. 7, 2011, as a result of Martínez’s work and that of many others before him, Gov. Bill Ritter granted Colorado’s first posthumous pardon to Arridy. At that time, Colorado was only the 14th state in the U.S. to do so.

The chain of events that ended with Arridy’s pardon is nothing short of incredible. Martínez spoke humbly about his role in all of it, taking every possible opportunity to deflect the credit given to him onto the other dedicated individuals who devoted a great deal of their lives to clear Arridy’s name.

In the late 1980s, Bob Perske, a Colorado native living in Connecticut who worked closely with the mentally disabled, came across a poem in the Village Voice about the execution of a mentally ill man in Colorado. Arridy’s name was not in the poem, but Perske returned to Colorado and began investigating who the man was to learn his story. In 1995, Perske published a book about Arridy’s case, titled “Deadly Innocence?”

More than 10 years later, in early 2007, a close friend of Martínez asked him to look into a legal matter involving veteran’s benefits for a friend, who also happened to be a screenplay writer.

The writer had taken Perske’s book and turned it into the film “Woodpecker

16 The Docket I March 2011

Waltz,” poignantly named for the journey to Woodpecker Hill, the cemetery in Pueblo where executed convicts are buried. That June, ARC of the Pikes Peak Region raised enough funds for a headstone for Arridy’s grave, and Martínez attended the placement ceremony. There, he met Perske, who informed Martínez that he had told Arridy’s story to a number of lawyers in the past who had offered to help with the pardon process and then never returned his calls. Martínez committed to follow through and work to clear Arridy’s name.

Perske sent him all of his files on Arridy, including newspaper clippings dated back to the late 1930s. The amount of information Perske had collected over the years was daunting, and Martínez knew he first had to understand the pardon process.

The law involving pardons had evolved significantly, but as Martínez began the process of compiling the research, records, and petition letters on behalf of Arridy, he quickly learned there was no precedent on posthumous pardons. Posthumous pardons had not been applied for or granted in Colorado. Martínez said he felt constant self-doubt. He spent nights and weekends going through the boxes and boxes of information supplied to him by Perske, learning Arridy’s tragic story.

At the age of 10, Arridy was committed by the Pueblo County Court to the State Home and Training for Mental Defectives in Grand Junction.

On Aug. 8, 1936, he and some other boys from the institution ran away and hopped a train. In Pueblo, sometime between the night of Aug. 15 and the morning of Aug. 16, 1936, 15-year-old Dorothy Drain was raped and violently murdered in her bed with a hatchet.

About a week later, the sheriff of Cheyenne, Wyo., reported that Arridy had confessed to the crime.

Arridy was convicted and sentenced to death, despite evidence showing he

was not even in Pueblo the night of the crime; his testimony that he did not own a hatchet and didn’t even k now what one was; and the subMartínez sequent confession and conviction of Frank Aguilar, who was arrested for the murder while attending the victim’s funeral. Following Aguilar’s arrest, the Cheyenne sheriff obtained a second false confession from Arridy, stating that he acted with Aguilar in the murder. Aguilar, however, said he never knew Arridy. Further, the hatchet used in the murder was found in Aguilar’s home.

Aguilar was found guilty at his trial and was executed on Aug. 17, 1937.

Arridy was not executed until a year and a half later. The delay was a result of very creative lawyering on the part of his attorney, Gail Ireland (who later became Colorado Attorney General). Ireland represented Arridy following his conviction and successfully secured numerous executions stays for him.

In the first appeal (Arridy v. People, 103 Colo. 29 (1938)), Ireland sought reversal of Arridy’s judgment, setting forth 75 assignments of error. Ireland argued that Arridy’s commitment to the State Home and Training for Mental Defectives in Grand Junction when he was 10 was res judicata as to his sanity.

Therefore, Ireland argued, Arridy should not have been legally tried on that issue in the criminal case. Ireland further asserted that Arridy’s institutional commitment also established a presumption of mental insanity. The Court rejected both arguments, explaining that it “does not follow from a commitment to such an institution that one necessarily is incapable of forming the intent to commit a crime,” and even if Arridy’s commitment had created a presumption of insanity, the state had overcome that presumption by introducing sufficient evidence to

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March 2011 I The Docket 17

the murder.

The Court was asked to determine whether the county court had jurisdiction to proceed with the insanity determination. It held that the only cour t with jurisdiction to make an inquiry into the sanity of a death-row inmate is Joe Arridy, right, gives his toy train to Angelo Agnes on Jan. 6, 1939. the court that conducted Courtesy of the Royal Gorge Regional Museum & History Center the original murder trial.

In this case, that was the indicate that Arridy knew the difference District Court for Pueblo County, not the between right and wrong.

Fremont County Court.

Despite a finding by three docLike the first appeal, however, the tors that Arridy was mentally disabled Supreme Court again issued an opinion and incapable of distinguishing right expressing its difficulty in reconciling from wrong, the Supreme Court found the current state of the law with simple that the jury is entitled to give as much morality. The final paragraph of the pubweight as it chooses to the testimony and lished dissent has the same chilling effect opinions of the doctors. as the final paragraph of the first appeal In affirming the judgment, Justice opinion: Norris Bakke concluded the first appeal Are we then to further say that a by lamenting the current state of the law: right to obtain legitimate evidence is to be In conclusion, acknowledgement should denied? If so, then there are instances when be made of the commendable effort on the justice is insecure. I will not lend myself to part of defendant’s counsel and others to such denial, particularly where, as here, save Arridy from the death sentence … but counsel and others, prompted only, as it until such time as the race, in its evolution clearly appears, by feeling and inclinations process, can work out a more intelligent most creditable to man, are making a fair solution of cases such as is here presented, and legitimate effort to prevent the cold and it remains the duty of courts only, to safetragic taking, by the people, of the life of an guard the rights of a defendant and see that admitted mental incompetent, an imbecile he had a fair and impartial trial under the since birth, now friendless and penniless, law of the state as it is now, not under what and without conception of what is about to we wish it might be, or should, or may be occur. [103 Colo. at 343-44]. at some time in the future. [103 Colo. at When asked why he took on Arridy’s 38-39]. case, Martínez could only point to The second appeal, (People v. Eldred, the concluding paragraphs of the two County Judge, 103 Colo. 334 (1938)) appeals. The Supreme Court recognized occurred in December of the same year, that the execution of Arridy was wrong; notably about a month after the date the however, their hands were tied. They Supreme Court set for Arridy’s execution were forced to act within the four corners in the first appeal. Following another of the law as it existed at that time. creative legal maneuver to have the Martínez explained that what hapFremont County Court declare Arridy pened to Arridy could never happen presently insane, thereby staying his today. and it is important to rememexecution, the Colorado Supreme Court ber that this case took place in 1936. A had a second opportunity to consider the small community had just experienced a Arridy case. The second appeal stemmed brutal rape and murder of one of its chilfrom an analysis of his sanity at the time dren, and someone had confessed to the he was scheduled to be executed, rather crime. Martinez contends, and it’s hard than at the time he allegedly committed

18 The Docket I March 2011

to dispute, that no one charged with the murder of Dorothy Drain would have received a fair trial, much less someone who allegedly confessed (twice) to the crime. The people were out for blood. The jury dismissed the testimony of multiple doctors who told them that Arridy did not have the mental capacity to form the requisite criminal intent to commit the crime. Martínez referred to it as “frontier justice”—the notion of the community taking “justice” into its own hands.

In no way does this excuse the fate that befell Arridy. At most, it provides some context. Many people, in learning Arridy’s story, are overcome with a sense that the legal system failed this man. It did. But the work of Martinez, and those before him, to clear Arridy’s name vindicates the legal system in a sense.

“Fortunately, the law has evolved in just the manner contemplated by Justice Bakke [in the denial of Arridy’s first appeal],” Ritter said in his Executive Order granting the pardon. “Under current law, it would be unconstitutional to execute a person such as Mr. Arridy. ... Pardoning Mr. Arridy cannot undo this tragic event in Colorado history. It is in the interests of justice and simple decency, however, to restore his good name. Granting this pardon demonstrates that Colorado has, in fact, matured in its understanding of mental disability.”

Arridy’s pardon is the result of decades of hard work on the part of people who didn’t even know him. They simply knew that his story in no way reflected justice. Ireland, Perske, Martínez, and the other links in the chain devoted their time, energy, and spirit to right the wrong of Arridy’s conviction and execution.

Because of them, Arridy will live on as an innocent man, and his last dance will no longer be the Woodpecker Waltz.

Nicole M. Mundt is an attorney with Foster Graham Milstein & Calisher, LLP.

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March 2011 I The Docket 19

Where S W D pider

oman wells

by J u st ice G reg Hob b s

M

y grandson K.J. and I travel with the Navajo teachers to Canyon de Chelly in July 2010.

Stricken by a heart attack last month at the Grand Canyon, Professor Michael Welsh remains in Greeley. The sacred stones the Diné arranged in prayer for him continue to bless his recovery.

We gather at Chinle. Summer “monsoon” rains greet our opening workshop session. If Chinle Wash is passable tomorrow, we may enter Canyon de Chelly. Tonight we prepare indoors.

We savor Navajo poet Luci Tapahonso’s exquisite poem “A Breeze Swept Through”: The first born of dawn woman slid out amid crimson fluid streaked with stratus clouds her body glistening August sunset pink light steam rising from her like rain on warm rocks (a sudden cool breeze swept through the kitchen and Granpa smiled then sang quietly, knowing the moment).

She came when the desert day cooled and dusk began to move in in that intricate changing of time she gasped and it flows from her now with every breath with every breath.

She travels now sharing scarlet sunsets named for wild desert flowers her smile a blessing song.

And in mid-November, early morning darkness

20 The Docket I March 2011

A view of Spider Rock, Canyon de Chelly.

after days of waiting pain the second one cried wailing.

Sucking first earth breath, separating the heavy fog, she cried and kicked tiny brown limbs.

Fierce movements as outside mist lifted as the sun is born again.

(East of Acoma, a sandstone boulder split in two – a sharp, clean crack.)

She is born of damp mist and early sun.

She is born again woman of dawn.

She is born knowing the warm smoothness of rock.

She is born knowing her own morning strength.

“It’s about a woman having a baby,” says an Anglo male teacher.

“Hear her push the child. She’s breathing in and out!” exclaims Maria DeGracia.

“This is how Changing Woman gives birth to the Hero Twins,” explains Marie Salt. “Dawn woman ... her body glistening.”

We all agree that, after an August desert day has cooled and dusk moves in, sunset pink and kitchen breezes will send the ancestors and their children singing.

In the morning, we carpool to the Thunderbird Hotel, just inside the entrance to Canyon de Chelly National Monument.

We enter Chinle Wash at the mouth of the main canyon, but only with a Navajo guide. In this unique National Monument, the Diné, may I say (repeating myself) the people, still live, work, and practice their art within.

As many as we are, we board two six-wheeled military transport vehicles adapted, safari-like, to carry us aloft in the open

air for better viewing. All day, their gears grind lower and lower. Their wheels whir in the mud of the wash from the night before. We plunge into swirling arroyos and teeter up far banks, expecting to slip back down.

We stop to see many figures, hands, and flute players the Ancestral Pueblo people pecked and painted onto sandstone walls. We proceed Andrew Bia plays the flute above Massacre Cave. up Canyon del Muerto from its junction with Canyon de Canyon de Chelly for Spider Rock.

Chelly, passing cliff houses that are 1,000 Fortress Rock is a large, semiyears old. We take a mid-morning rest detached sandstone peninsula to the top break at Antelope House, a fenced off but of which Navajos retreated during Kit very approachable multi-storied ancesCarson’s 1864 invasion. Burning corn, tral Pueblo appended by Navajo-owned slaughtering sheep, and cutting down art tables and food service. The fry bread peach trees, the Army and New Mexico is tasty. I buy, carved of cottonwood root, militia under Carson’s command drove a masked Navajo dancer for my wife. the Navajos out of these heartland canThe sheer red walls of this 18-mile yons on their Long Walk to Fort Sumner canyon tower 400 and more feet above on the Pecos River. us. We pass corn fields, peach orchards, From its fork at Canyon del Muerto, young people riding good-looking Canyon de Chelly is 10 miles long, its horses, dilapidated hogans, and fixed up walls rising 1,000 feet above the valley new ones that families live in. Children floor. We are getting weary of the long swimming in the creek wave at us. Binocride, but offered the opportunity, not ulars focused, we zero in on Navajo rock one of us would turn on back for the art depicting the 1805 Spanish march of Thunderbird Lodge.

Narbona and his soldiers into Canyon del Making many creek crossings up Muerto, where they gunned down men, Canyon de Chelly, we stop to examine the women, and children huddled in “MasWhite House ruins, the only spot where sacre Cave.” visitors without a Navajo Guide may We enjoy a late lunch below Mummy hike. We reach Face Rock, also known as Cave, a spectacular ancient dwelling Speaking Rock, Talking Rock, or Whislocated high up a southwest facing wall. pering Rock. A pinnacle at the mouth of Our Navajo friends talk of summers they Monument Canyon, it resembles a prospent here as kids tending sheep up side filed human. canyons.

The most sacred of all the canyon’s K.J. and I are riding in the rumble sacred sites now looms before us. Spider seat at the very back of one of these sixRock is a twain column, 800 feet tall at wheeled beasts. We howl at the jokes the its highest point, where Spider Woman, teachers make. The more we howl the crossing on the rainbow’s arch, lives and more they joke, until one of the double spins her webs, teaching the Diné how to set of wheels on our vehicle goes flat. weave.

There’s lots of help jacking up the Politely, our guide asks us to distruck, but not enough spares. Our guide mount but not approach any more than calls for a replacement truck. As the the distance needed to take photographs afternoon moves on we pass back by of each other. Great curing ceremonies Fortress Rock and round the bend, leavoccur here at various times of the year. ing Canyon del Muerto and heading up

Night is closing in. Rain begins to fall as we return to sleep.

On the third day, we split up our group and alternate between a geological program on the north rim of Canyon del Muerto anchored by Katie Gilbert, and an introduction to native plants and their uses led by Marie Salt on the south rim of Canyon de Chelly, above the White House ruins.

Katie gives K.J. the task of putting out little yellow flags to space three billion years of the Earth’s formations. We start away from the canyon’s rim and make giant strides toward the abyss marking Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. We learn in measured time that we humans are but a fingernail on the glistening body of Dawn Woman.

Held back by the rail guarding against our fall, we can look into Massacre Cave below us. Andrew Bia plays the flute and Leroy Morgan prays Navajo blessings.

Stepping around shining water pockets, smelling of new rain, Marie Salt has us touch, smell, and sometimes taste the needles, leaves, flowers, and buds of native plants. We see beeplant, hollyhock, juniper berry, rock sage, paintbrush, service berry, and yucca fruit. From these and others you might brew some tea, soothe your nerves, purge your bowels, salve your wounds, or conjure a water color.

We end at noon with a picnic near the monument’s entrance. The teachers will start the school year soon. There’s much to share in a Luci Tapahonso poem. D

Exploring the native plants on the canyon’s rim.

March 2011 I The Docket 21 February

2011 DBA Award Winners Award of Merit David Little Volunteer Mary Jo Gross Young Lawyer of the Year Lucia Padilla Judicial Excellence Hon. William W. Hood III Teacher Molly Lepore The awards ceremony will be held on

Tuesday, June 7, at Hotel Monaco from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

2011–12 Governance The DBA Nominating Committee has prepared the following slate of nominees to hold office in 2011-2012.

The members of the Committee are Elsa Martinez Tenreiro, chair; John Baker; Gillian Bidgood; Ilene Bloom; James Breese; Stacy Carpenter; Paul Chessin; Nancy Cohen; Michelle Ferguson; Vicki Johnson; Dan Muse; and Meshach Rhoades.

President-elect–James G. Benjamin 1st Vice President–Hon. William W. Hood III 2nd Vice President–Lucia C. Padilla Trustees–Catherine A. Chan –Janet S. Drake –Andrew M. Toft Board of Governors–Donna Bakalor –D. A. Bertram –Jaclyn K. Casey –Thomas J. DeMarino –James G. Gaspich –Jerri L. Jenkins –Jonathan M. Lucero –D. Scott Martinez –Richard M. Murray –Jerremy M. Ramp –Siddhartha Rathod

22 The Docket I March 2011

Bylaw excerpts: 7-2-5 Any active, judiciary, or life member of the association may also be nominated for any office, except the office of president, by filing with the executive director a petition signed by at least 50 active, judiciary, life, or retired members of the association requesting placement on the election ballot and designating the office desired. Any such nominee for the office of second vice president must be 37 years of age or younger at the time he/she takes office. The form of such petition shall be made available by the Nominating Committee at the bar association office on or before April 10, and must be completed and received at the bar association office on or before 4:00 p.m., May 1.

7-2-6 If petitions for additional nominees are not received by May 1, the candidates nominated by the Nominating Committee are deemed elected and shall assume their respective offices as of the following July 1. If more than one person has been duly nominated for any office, an election by the members shall be conducted by the Nominating Committee for those contested offices.

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March 2011 I The Docket 23

You are What you

READ

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24 The Docket I March 2011

1900 Grant Street, Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80203-4303

The Colorado Lawyer / February 2011 / Vol. 40, No. 6 / 1

Denver Bar Association CLE Upcoming Programs

MARK YOUR

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March 2

Trial Skills Training Series – Program 1: Selecting Your Jury & Handling Your Voir Dire — Submitted for 3 General Credits (live in Denver/webcast)

March 3

HOA Law Basics — Submitted for 7 General Credits including 1 Ethics (live in Denver/webcast)

March 4

Estate Administration Basic Skills — Submitted for 7 General Credits including 1 Ethics (live in Denver/webcast)

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Recent Case Law Effects on the Anatomy of a Residential Construction Defect Lawsuit — Submitted for 3 General Credits (live in Denver/webcast)

March 10

Highly Contested Issues in Wrongful Death Litigation — Submitted for 7 General Credits (live in Denver/webcast)

March 11

Water Resources, Issues, & Administration of the South Platte River Basin - Part 1 — Submitted for 7 General Credits (live in Denver/webcast)

March 14

Adobe Acrobat for Legal Professionals — Submitted for 1 General Credit (live in Denver/webcast)

March 17

Practicing with Professionalism — Submitted for 6 General Credits (live in Denver)

March 18

Workers’ Compensation Spring Update — Submitted for 6 General Credits including 1 Ethics (live in Denver/webcast)

March 23

The Nuts & Bolts of Deposition Practice — Submitted for 4 General Credits (live in Denver/webcast)

March 23

Examining Experts at Deposition & Trial — Submitted for 4 General Credits (live in Denver/webcast)

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Medical Evidence Made Simple: Finding It, Understanding It, Using It — Submitted for 4 General Credits (live in Denver/webcast)

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Examining Doctors at Deposition & Trial — Submitted for 4 General Credits (live in Denver/webcast)

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www.cobar.org/cle March 2011 I The Docket 25

Legal

AFFAIRS GOOD THINGS The Colorado Hispanic Bar Association awarded Stephanie Villafuerte the Chris Miranda Outstanding Hispanic Lawyer Villafuerte Award for her commitment to the Hispanic community and personification of the principles of the legal profession.

Avi Loewenstein, an associate at the law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, recently was elected to the Water for Waslala Board of Directors. As secretary, Loewenstein will maintain the organization’s major records and help guide the board’s development as its mission evolves.

Onsager, Staelin & Guyerson, LLC is pleased to receive the Judge Donald E. Cordova Pro Bono Award by the Faculty of Federal Advocates for the second year in a row. The award is given every year to honor a firm or attorney that demonstrates an outstanding commitment to providing pro bono legal services through Faculty of Federal Advocates Bankruptcy Pro Bono Program.

Michael Guyerson and Andrew D. Johnson Guyerson were individually recognized for their personal effort and commitment to providing pro bono legal services to these debtors.

Amy L . Benson, a Johnson shareholder at the law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, recently was appointed to the Warren Village Board of Trustees. As a board member, Benson will contribute to the strategic direction of the organization and solicit contributions to its mission.

Miles M. Dewhirst was selected for membership in the Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA).

ADTA invites only one defense trial attorney to be Dewhirst its prime member per one million in population for each city, town, or municipality across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Karen Chapman, Chairperson of Sherman & Howard and a member of its Business Practice section, was recognized for her key contributions to the jet Chapman fuel industry at Armbrust Aviation Group’s Annual Awards Ceremony. Karen received a “Distinguished Achievement in Aviation” award for her contributions to solving many complex problems affecting the aviation industry over the years.

Gordon & Rees has appointed Denver partner Franz Hardy to serve as chair of the firm’s national Diversity Committee. In 2004, Gordon & Rees created a Diversity Committee to further support and promote diversity efforts within the firm, the legal profession, and the community at large.

CHANGES Rikard Lundberg, Noelle Riccardella, W.H. Allen Shelden, and Margaux Trammell have been elected shareholders in the Denver office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.

Lundberg and Trammell are members of Brownstein’s corporate and business group; Riccardella is a member of the firm’s real estate group; and Shelden is a member of Brownstein’s hospitality and real estate groups.

White and Steele, PC is pleased to announce that James M. Meseck and Lena K. Moeller have been named shareholders of the firm and Jennifer Jaskolka-Brown has been named an officer of the firm.

Tuthill & Hughes LLP is pleased to announce that Kelly R. Berg has become a partner of the firm. Her practice focuses on the Berg tax and corporate issues affecting nonprofit organizations, and she regularly advises individuals, estates, and trusts with respect to tax and fiduciary issues.

Baker & Hostetler LLP announced today the return of partner Rico Munn to its Denver office.

Munn, who joined the Munn firm in 1996, had been a successful corporate and commercial litigation attorney for more than a decade when he was asked to serve in various cabinet positions for Gov. Bill Ritter. He will resume his practice at Baker Hostetler focusing on public law, commercial litigation, and regulatory matters.

Denver native Daniel M. Kowalski has joined The Fowler Law Firm in Austin, Texas. He continues to edit Bender’s “Immigration Bulletin for LexisNexis,” along with the daily blawg, Bender’s Immigration Bulletin—Daily Edition. In 2010, he was named a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Justice Journalism.

Cassie Boggs has returned to Denver from Barrick Gold in Toronto and has joined Resource Capital Funds as General Counsel.

Attorney Douglas B. Koff has joined the Denver-based law firm,

If you are a Denver Bar attorney member and you’ve moved, been promoted, hired an associate, taken on a partner, received a promotion or award, or begun service on a new board, we’d love to hear from you. Talks, speeches, CLE presentations, and political announcements, due to their sheer number, cannot be included. In addition, The Docket cannot print notices of honors determined by other publications (e.g., Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, etc.) again due to volume. Notices are printed at no cost but must be submitted in writing and are subject to editing and space available.

Send all notices to Kate Mills at kmills@cobar.org by the 5th day of the month.

26 The Docket I March 2011

Robinson Waters & O’Dorisio, P.C. as Special Counsel.

Koff will continue to focus his practice on real estate, commercial leasing, and business representation.

Baker & Hostetler LLP announced today that Casie D. Collignon and Cory M. Curtis have been elected to the partnership.

Collignon is a member of the Litigation Group and concentrates her practice in class action defense and commercial litigation.

Curtis is also a member of the Litigation Group and concentrates his practice in commercial litigation.

McConnell Fleischner Houghtaling & Craigmile, LLC, a group of trial lawyers who focus on defending professionals and professional organizations in malpractice matters, has changed its firm name to McConnell Fleischner Houghtaling, LLC. Dorsey & Whitney, LLP partner Craig Hemenway has been promoted to head the Denver Patent Group. Lee Osman will still remain as firm-wide Patent Group head.

The firm also is pleased to announce the addition of two new associates, Josh Engel (patent) and Kerry van der Burch (trial).

Dennis Walker has moved his practice and joined the firm of Irwin & Boesen, PC, after many years as a sole practioner. He will continue to work for individuals, groups, and businesses in commercial litigation, contracts, negotiations, insurance disputes, employee benefit claims (including ERISA litigation), personal injury, civil rights, employment matters, and real estate.

Featherstone Petrie DeSisto LLP would like to announce that Emma Garrison has become an associate of the firm. Garrison has experience in environmental law, and currently focuses her practice on commercial litigation.

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), con-

tinues to grow its Denver office and welcomes Jim Goh as shareholder and Austin Smith as associate.

Goh’s practice focuses on employment litigation, class action defense, and occupational safety and health matters.

Smith has significant experience in labor and employment litigation matters.

Sherman & Howard LLC is pleased to announce the Jan. 25 election of Colaizzi Brooke Colaizzi, Maria Harwood, and Bridget Sullivan from the Denver office to membership in the firm.

Colaizzi is a memHarwood ber in the L abor and Employment Law Practice, Harwood is a member in the Public Finance Practice, and Sullivan is a member in the Tax and Sullivan Probate Department.

Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce the addition of Brian K. Furgason as a new senior associate to its Business & Finance team.

Furgason has significant transactional experience, including advising both buyers and sellers in mergers and acquisitions (domestic and cross-border), real estate-related transactions, joint ventures, and general corporate matters.

BRICKS & MORTAR Louisa M. Ritsick announces the formation of Ritsick Law LLC, located at 44 Cook St., Ste. 100, Denver, CO 80206; phone: (303) 264-7627; e-mail: lritsick@ ritsicklaw.com. The firm specializes in estate and tax planning and probate and trust administration.

Steve Csajaghy is one of two partners in the new firm Condit Csajaghy, LLC. He was formerly a partner with Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP. The firm’s new address is 695 S. Colorado

Blvd., Ste. 270, Denver, CO 80246.

Dorsey & Whitney, LLP has moved from Republic Plaza to 1400 Wewatta St., Ste. 400, Denver, CO 80202.

Jack Reilly and Ellen Reilly of The Reilly Intellectual Property Law Firm, P.C. have partnered with Group14 Engineering in developing and sharing offices in the first LEED Platinum certified building in the world. As an office, they take a holistic approach to reducing their entire ecological footprint, including a yearly waste audit, an advanced recycling and food composting program, limiting office supplies, product consumption, and extreme indoor water savings.

Tiftickjian Law Firm, P.C. has moved to 600 S. Cherry St., Ste. 1105 in the Cherry Creek area. The practice specializes in DUI and criminal defense.

NEW FACES Meagan (Pitt) Partilla and Ian Partilla are proud to announce the arrival of their daughter, Shaina Ellen, on Dec. 27, Shaina 2010. Big sister, Jorah, is especially excited about Shaina’s arrival.

If Shaina follows in her mother’s footsteps and becomes an attorney, she will be the 29th attorney in the family.

Troubled by Rude and Unprofessional Attorneys?

The following lawyers are willing to take calls on a confidential basis, for guidance, tips, and strategies for dealing with opposing counsel.

Panel Members James O’Connor: (303) 799-9001 Fran Fontana: (303) 468-2668 Teresa Wilkins: (303) 791-9545 Helen Shreves: (303) 777-7833 Sponsered by

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March 2011 I The Docket 27

Dates on the

DOCKET DBA EVENTS

FOR THE PUBLIC

All DBA meetings are scheduled at 1900 Grant St., Ste. 900, Denver, unless otherwise noted. Call Melissa Nicoletti, (303) 824-5321, to schedule committee meetings, so they will appear in this calendar.

To volunteer for the DBA Public Legal Education programs or for more information, unless otherwise indicated, contact Meghan Bush at (303) 824-5303.

March 1

Lawline 9 — 4–6:30 p.m.

Denver Access to Justice Committee Meeting Noon–1:30 p.m.

Call Meghan Bush, (303) 824-5303.

March 2

Docket Committee Meeting Noon–1:00 p.m.

Call Sara Crocker, (303) 824-5347.

DBA/YLD Movie Night “The Social Network” 6–9 p.m.

Call Heather Clark, (303) 824-5350.

March 3

Democracy Education Noon–1:30 p.m.

Call Meghan Bush, (303) 824-5303.

March 9

DBA/YLD Executive Council Meeting 6–7:30 p.m.

Call Amy Sreenen, (303) 824-5311.

March 10

March 2

Legal Night At El Centro De San Juan Diego 2830 Lawrence St. 5:30–7 p.m.

Call 303-295-9470.

March 8

Bankruptcy Clinic U.S. Bankruptcy Court 721 19th St. 1:30–3 p.m.

March 9

Lawline 9— 4–6:30 p.m.

March 15

Small Claims Clinic 1515 Cleveland Place 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Pro Se Family Law Clinic Office of Economic Development 1200 Federal Blvd., Room 1018 5:30–7 p.m.

Call (720) 944-2594.

DBA Board of Trustees 7:30–9:15 a.m.

Call Dana Collier Smith, (303) 824-1115.

Legal Night at Mi Casa 360 Acoma St. 5:30–7 p.m.

Call (303) 573-1302.

March 15

March 16

Community Action Network Monthly Meeting Noon–1 p.m.

Call Kate Mills, (303) 824-5312.

Pro Se Divorce Clinic 1437 Bannock St. Courtroom 22 Noon–1:30 p.m.

Lawline 9— 4–6:30 p.m.

March 17

Collections Clinic 1515 Cleveland Place 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

March 23

Lawline 9 — 4–6:30 p.m.

March 30

Lawline 9 — 4–6:30 p.m.

Join a Committee!

If you are interested in joining a committee listed here, call (303) 860-1115 with questions.

For a full list of DBA committees, visit denbar.org.

Write for

The Docket DBA members are encouraged to send story ideas, photos, tips, and fun articles for The Docket Committee’s consideration. Our goal is to have a newsletter that’s an outlet for prose by Denver attorneys, featuring stories about members and about matters of interest to our members. We want to include both the sincere and the satirical! Send member announcements, ideas, or content t o E d i t o r S a ra C ro c k e r a t scrocker@cobar.org.

All meetings are scheduled at 1900 Grant St., Ste. 900, Denver, unless otherwise noted. Activities for the Denver Bar Association are listed on this page. Call Melissa Nicoletti, (303) 824-5321, to schedule committee meetings, so they will appear in this calendar.

28 The Docket I March 2011

Republicans, continued from page 8 empower us to enact a federal ban on marriage between persons of the same gender, control the states’ exercise of police power in regulation of abortion practices, or pay farmers not to grow corn!” Duck, Congressman, they’re throwing things at you!

As the Tea Party gears up for the 2012 presidential race and their GOP Congress members begin crafting the legislation they will offer in this new Congressional term, they should all be careful what they wish for. The Constitution, they have rediscovered, was indeed a limited delegation of very circumscribed power from the states and the people at large to the federal government. Our Founders distrusted the national government, and wanted to keep it small enough to be controlled.

That limit applies to both sides of the political spectrum. If the GOP pushes for full repeal of the Obama health care reform legislation on constitutional grounds, then it must be equally mindful that the old red-meat issues they trot out every election cycle, such as prayer in schools, gay marriage bans, federal prohibition of certain abortion practices, and federal grain or farm subsidies, also are beyond the reach of the limited powers granted to the federal government.

So, what will it be? Will I hear GOP presidential candidates in local forums telling their audiences that the federal

government has no power to meddle in state definitions of marriage, or state laws governing abortion practices? Will I see GOP candidates who favor a robust interpretation of the Second Amendment also advocate dismantling the Department of Homeland Security on the grounds that it threatens the very freedoms and sovereignty the Constitu-

tion reserves to the people?

I’m not holding my breath. D Doug McQuiston wrote “Election 2010—The Post-Game Show” for The Docket in December. You can read McQuiston’s and other Docket articles at denbar. org/docket.

Se-lect : v. – to choose carefully.

At Harper Lutz Zuber Hofer & Associates, we know that whether you need to value a company or intellectual property, choosing an expert is no easy task.

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303.486.0000 www.HLZCPA.com March 2011 I The Docket 29

Picture

THIS

Mark T. Clouatre Honored with Davis Award Mark T. Clouatre was presented with the 2010 Richard Marden Davis Award on Jan. 25 at a dinner in his honor at the Brown Palace Hotel. The award is presented annually to a Denver lawyer who is 40 years old or younger and combines excellence as a lawyer with creative civic, cultural, educational, and charitable leadership, best exemplifying the character and promise of Davis at that stage in his career. It is presented by Davis’ family, his law firm Davis Graham & Stubbs, and the Denver Bar Foundation. Clouatre is a partner at Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP and volunteers with a number of organizations that focus on children and their education.

Photos by Sara Crocker and Jamie Cotten.

Davis Graham & Stubbs partner Christopher Richardson, Mark Clouatre, and Denver Bar Association President Stacy Carpenter.

Mark and Stephanie Clouatre pose before he was presented with the Davis Award.

30 The Docket I March 2011

2009 Davis Award winner Monica Marquez, 2008 winner Mari Newman, and 2007 winner Michael Carrigan before the award ceremony.

DBA Happenings Anthony van Westrum Receives CBA’s Highest Honor Anthony van Westrum was given the Colorado Bar Association Award of Merit on Jan. 14, honoring his outstanding service to the association, the legal profession, the administration of justice, and the community. Van Westrum has participated in more than a dozen of the bar association’s sections and committees, and has been an invaluable member to the Legislative Policy Committee since 1992. He has a solo practice focusing on corporate and business law, arbitration and mediation in commercial transactions, expert witness and consulting services in business matters, and ethics and professional misconduct matters.

Photos by Jamie Cotten.

Cindy Goldberg with (from left), Paul Prendergast, David Goldberg, Mike Smith, and Charles Pratt.

Former CBA President David Wood (from left), Award of Merit winner Anthony van Westrum, CBA President Paul Chan, and CBA Executive Director Chuck Turner.

Van Westrum was honored at the Colorado Bar Foundation’s Annual Bar Fellows Dinner at the Sheraton Denver Downtown.

“My Sisters Made of Light” Book Party The DBA and the Colorado Women’s Bar Association hosted a book reading and signing for “My Sisters Made of Light” on Jan. 27.

The novel, written by Denver attorney Jacqueline St. Joan, focuses on three activist sisters who dedicate themselves to helping the women of Pakistan.

Jacqueline St. Joan reads a passage from her novel.

St. Joan spent time in Pakistan traveling and researching before writing the book.

The reception included a slideshow and discussion with author Jacqueline St. Joan and Professor Tahira Khan.

March 2011 I The Docket 31

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