CO Methods of Practice

What it contains:

Each of the volumes in this series sets out the Colorado treatment of a different area of law. The first few volumes cover the laws of Colorado corporations, LLCs and LLPs, and are written by well known and long time Colorado attorneys Cathy and James Krendl. Other titles cover Colorado civil rules, litigation and trial practice; personal injury, torts and insurance; as well as appellate, bankruptcy, criminal, employment, and family law, among others. Each individual subject is authored by a resident Colorado expert who has practiced in the field for many years.

Why you should use it:

Subject treatises contain a detailed analysis of all the law relating to a particular topic. They will provide annotations that cover case law, statutes and regulations that best illustrate a particular point of law, but there won’t always be Colorado-specific examples. In the Colorado Methods of Practice Series, all of the annotations refer you to Colorado law on point.

Where you can find it:

The print set is located on the 3rd floor of the Westminster Law Library under the call number KFC1880 .C652, as well as at the Reference Desk.

The Westlaw database is COPRAC, or it can be found on the Colorado tab under the heading Colorado treatises and practice materials.

Written by Beth Mescall, Law Librarian Fellow

For additional information on various Colorado practice materials, please see our Research Guide on this topic.

Domestic Abuse Law Extends to Pets

An AP-Petside.com poll conducted early last summer indicated that fully one-half of pet owners felt that their pets were “just as much a part of the family as any other person in the household.” Another 36% answered that their pets were “part of the family, but not as much as the people in the household.” All told, over 8 out of 10 people polled agreed that their pets were members of the family. A newly-signed Colorado law takes steps towards treating them as such.

Governor Bill Ritter signed Senate Bill 80 on April 12, 2010. The new legislation provides for court-entered civil protection orders to include directives and protections concerning animals. Though the law does allow for additional protections for pets, its purpose it directly tied to instances of domestic violence against people. As detailed in the press release, “Senate Bill 80 will give law enforcement the ability to protect families, children and those who are at-risk,” said Gov. Ritter. “This legislation fills a gap between civil and criminal law to protect families.”

Sponsored by Senator Linda Newell (D-Littleton) and Representative Jerry Frangas (D-Denver), the newly-signed bill is designed to help thwart the “pattern of crime over time” – 1) damage property, 2) injure or kill a pet, then 3) attack their victim – that abusers and stalkers often follow. In support of the bill, Dr. Frank R. Ascione visiting professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work and Executive Director for the Institute of Human-Animal Connection had testified and provided “examples of the co-occurence of domestic abuse and animal abuse and described how animal abuse may influence the actions of a person who is the victim of domestic violence". Dr. Ascione discussed statistics regarding women who delay going to shelters out of concern for the well-being of their pets.

Colorado is not the first state to take this important step to protect both pets and human family members from the devastating effects of domestic violence. According to a Summer 2007 “Expert Insights” piece written by Phil Arkow and published by the American Bar Association’s Commission on Domestic Violence, “Maine enacted the nation’s first laws in March, 2006 that empower courts to include companion animals in domestic violence protective orders; within two months, Vermont and New York followed suit.” Other states such as California, Connecticut, Illinois, Nevada, and Tennessee were not far behind. According to the Animal Legal & Historical Center, there were 10 states as of 2009 that had enacted provisions for pets in domestic violence protective orders – it must be noted that Colorado was already included on this list based on its statutory definition of “domestic violence” as including violence against property such as animals under certain circumstances (C.R.S. § 18-6-800.3). Since then, the movement towards including animals within protective orders has continued to grow, with a recent blog posting and news release indicating that West Virginia has passed similar legislation. According to the news release, West Virginia was the 14th such state.

Some Additional Resources
For more information about the connections between domestic violence against people and against animals, be sure to check out the Institute for Human-Animal Connection at DU, which has recently been the focus of an article in the Denver Post.

The American Humane Association also has a section of its website devoted to the Human-Animal Bond.

For further reading on pet news and care issues with a Denver perspective, be sure to check out the Fetch blog by John Davidson, which includes a post on the new Colorado legislation discussed above.

The Animal Law Blog is a regularly-updated blog that features, among other things, “one practitioner’s observations and analysis of animal law news…”

Pet-Abuse.Com has an interesting project where interactive animal cruelty maps have been developed. In the Colorado map 171 out of 258 cases in Colorado have been mapped, 12 of which also involved domestic disputes in some way.

An excellent clearinghouse of articles, information, and research can be found here. On that website, one can also find an early (1997) national survey and article exploring the relationship between the abuse of animals and domestic violence.

Written by Marty Witt, Law Librarian Fellow

Strange Colorado Laws

Find that law and win a prize!

Did you know in Colorado it IS legal to tear off those pesky mattress tags (despite the big, bold lettering on the tag telling you not to)? Rumor has it former Colorado Governor Roy Romer celebrated passage of this law by tearing a tag from one of his office pillows and declaring his independence from those sneaky mattress tag police.

Driving down the street in your ‘64? Not on Sunday if it’s painted black. It is, according to many sources, illegal to drive a black car on Sunday in Denver.

Did you know in Cripple Creek, CO it is illegal to bring your horse or pack mule above the ground floor of any building? And in Fairplay it is illegal for any man, woman, or child to be seen flying while barefoot? And when you’re having second thoughts about Bob returning it in the same condition, just tell the truth: it is illegal in Denver to loan your vacuum cleaner to your next-door neighbor.

Finding web sites that give a list of dumb or questionable Colorado laws is not a difficult task, but finding citations for the most commonly mentioned “dumb” laws turns out to be nearly impossible. After many hours of searching, I was only able to find actual citations for the following law:

Proprietors of taverns located in Arvada, CO must ensure their establishments provide enough lighting necessary to read. Arvada Municipal Code: Sec. 3-4. Lighting.

A $5 Starbucks card goes to the person that can identify the most citations for the laws discussed above. Good luck! Please send your citations to me.

Written by Kimberley Dickey, Law Librarian Fellow

Sustainable Development & Appellate Advocacy Research Guides

The Westminster Law Library is pleased to report the release of two new Research Guides on Sustainable Development and Appellate Advocacy. Check out all of our Research Guides today! If you would like to suggest a topic for a future Guide, please let us know.

Myra Bradwell

Myra Colby Bradwell, born on February 12, 1831, went on to lead a life of political activism focused on women’s rights and became the first woman who applied to the Illinois state bar. Originally a school teacher, Myra Bradwell’s curiosity for legal studies started in the hopes of helping her husband James B. Bradwell a lawyer in the Illinois Bar, but grew into something much more. Bradwell began studying law as an apprentice under her husband, and sat for the Illinois bar exam in 1868 which she passed and was eligible for certification by the Illinois Supreme Court for admission to the bar. The Illinois Supreme Court rejected her application at first because she was a married woman and then later simply because she was a woman. Bradwell filed a writ of error to the United States Supreme Court.

While her case was pending, Bradwell became the founder and editor of the newspaper Chicago Legal News which was the first weekly legal newspaper in the Midwest. Her position as editor placed her in the public eye and Bradwell turned to a life of activism. She drafted a law requiring women to keep their own earnings, as well as advocating for women’s suffrage and other women’s civil rights issues. In May 1873, the Supreme Court upheld Illinois’ denial of admission to the bar, holding that admission to a state bar was not a right protected by the 14th Amendment. The Court went on to argue that women were limited to their role as homemaker because of their weakness and inability to be rational. (Bradwell v Illinois 83 US 130-142 (1873).

Myra Bradwell refused to give up even after this holding and continued to work for women’s rights and legal issues. It wasn’t until 1890, that the Illinois Supreme Court granted Bradwell a license to practice law. Bradwell did not reapply for admission but was granted the license by the Court to correct its previous error. In 1892, she was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Myra Bradwell was truly a pioneer in the field of women in the law. She led a life devoted to political and legal activism fighting for women’s civil rights and the rights of others. She died in 1894 from cancer but is still remembered today as a leader in the women lawyers’ movement. Further, she is remembered in the world of journalism as a leader and innovator for her work with Chicago Legal News.

Helpful Sources:
Stanford’s Women’s Legal History Biography Project

Entry for Myra Bradwell:
This is a fascinating entry with list and links with full text to many of the following: biographies, chapters and articles that feature Myra Bradwell. This entry also includes archival materials and legal cases that Myra Bradwell participated in as an attorney.

Written by Brittany Cronin, Law Librarian Fellow

BNA Database

CHECK OUT THE BNA DATABASE!

An important and unique online database that the law library provides access to is Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) BNA is a crucial information source for legal professionals, whether you are a law student or practicing lawyer. BNA publishes, electronically and in print, more than 350 news reports on legal, legislative, and regulatory developments. BNA covers corporate and business law; securities and corporate responsibility; human resources and employee benefits; employment and labor law; intellectual property; tax matters; international law, and more. And the best part is that as a law student you can access many of their daily, weekly, and monthly reports for free.

When you click in to the BNA database, consider sorting by subjects unless you know exactly which report you want to read. The front page of each report highlights the current news. However, you can search that particular report by using the basic or advanced search feature or you can simply browse the report. For those areas of law that interest you the most, consider setting up an e-mail alert and receiving the report via email. What better way to stay current on what is happening in a particular sector of the law.

Just recently, BNA added a new feature to their database. By clicking on “Search my BNA” in the upper right on all the reports, you can now search multiple publications at the same time. You are no longer limited to searching within a single publication and then moving on to the next. This feature means you can search all the business and corporate securities publications at once for your topic of interest. This new feature truly expands the capabilities of BNA and makes it an even more useful database tool.

Written by Stacey Bowers, Outreach & Instructional Services Coordinator

Administrative Law Research Guide

The Westminster Law Library is pleased to report the release of our new Administrative Law Research Guide. This guide provides resources for both Colorado & federal administrative law. Check out all of our Research Guides today!