Dufford, Philip G.

English

University of Denver

Denver Law Review Volume 71 Issue 1 Article 13 January 2021 The Honorable Harold D. Reed, Colorado Court of Appeals Philip G. Dufford Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/dlr Recommended Citation Philip G. Dufford, The Honorable Harold D. Reed, Colorado Court of Appeals, 71 Denv. U. L. Rev. 53 (1993). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Denver Law Review at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Denver Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact jennifer.cox@du.edu,dig-commons@du.edu. THE HONORABLE HARoL D. REED,*COLORADO COURT OF APPEALSPHIuP G. DuFroRD**THE EARLY YEARSHarold Reed was born on March 4, 1923, in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, oneof two identical twins so identical that even his mother could not tell themapart. The heavier baby was named Harry and the lighter baby was namedHarold. To try and distinguish between the two, the parents put differentcolored rings on the babies; these often becoming mixed up, the parentswent back to the distinction based on weight. At the age of one year, bothof children became ill and one twin died. It was believed then that thedeceased child was Harry, but there is no confirmation of that fact-andso the question remains whether Judge Reed is Harold or Harry Reed.At three, the Judge's father died from tuberculosis, contracted duringWorld War I. When his mother contracted the disease she moved to Den-ver with her child to a home south of Washington Park. Judge Reed waseducated in the Denver Public Schools, attending Steele ElementarySchool, Byers Junior High, and South High School, where he graduatedfrom in 1942. He then enrolled at the University of Denver but sixmonths later enlisted in the Army Air Force as a meteorology cadet andwas transferred to Hamilton College in upstate New York. At the pro-gram's termination in 1944, Reed went from the rank of cadet to the rankof private and transferred to the South Pacific, where he served in NewGuinea, the Admiralty Islands, Biak and the Islands of Leyte and Luzon inthe Philippines.THE FAMILYJudge Reed and his wife, Betty, were married in 1962. They have onedaughter, Holly, now 29 years old, who lives in Cozumel, Mexico, whereshe and her fiance run a deep sea diving school and underwater photogra-phy classes and also operate a camera shop. Judge Reed's hobbiesthroughout his adult life have been hunting and fishing, although thoseactivities have been somewhat curtailed recently because of an injury to hiship.THE LAWYERReed returned to the University of Denver in the spring of 1946 andgraduated in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science in Law and a Bachelor of* Judge Reed will retire in January 1994.** University of Colorado (J.D., 1952). Judge, Colorado Court of Appeals, 1970-72.Currently partner at Dufford & Brown, Denver, Colorado.DENVER UN/VERS/TY LAW REVIEWLaws (the equivalent of today's Juris Doctor). The Carnegie Foundationawarded Reed a graduate fellowship and he enrolled in a governmentmanagement program, for training either as an advisor/assistant to a stategovernor or as a city manager. Upon completion of that program, Reedreceived a Master's Degree in 1950.While enrolled in his graduate fellowship, Reed began practicing lawand upon receipt of his Master's Degree, he opened his office as a solepractitioner in Denver. His practice consisted primarily of personal injurywork and frequently worked as "of counsel" with other attorneys with ap-pellate matters pending before both the Colorado Supreme Court and theUnited States Supreme Court. During his practice, he handled the trialsor appeals of several significant cases, including the strict liability case ofHiigel v. General Motors Corp.1 In Mile High Fence Co. v. Radovich,2 one of theearly decisions of the reactivated Colorado Court of Appeals, Judge Reedwas counsel for the plaintiff there and in the Colorado Supreme Court.He was trial and appellate counsel in both City of Littleton v. Employers FireInsurance Co.3 and Miller v. First National Bank of Englewood.4TH JuRIsrIn 1976, then Governor Lamm appointed Reed to the district courtbench for the City and County of Denver, where he sat until his appoint-ment to the Colorado Court of Appeals in 1988. After his appointment tothe district court bench, Judge Reed acted as a roving judge and handledvarious cases out of different divisions of the district court. Soon after hewas appointed to that capacity, however, Judge Robert McLain died andhis docket was transferred to Judge Reed. At the time of his death, JudgeMcLain was assigned to the civil division, and it was that litigation thatJudge Reed assumed. Reed served in the domestic relations division,among other divisions. He still feels that the domestic relations court isthe most underrated of all the divisions in our court system and that itshould receive the best talent available. As he put it, "The cases that aredecided in those divisions affect many lives for a long time, and the effectupon those lives is more significant than the money matters involved inthe other civil cases."While on the district bench, Judge Reed received the nationallyknown "Batey case." 5 In this case, a child was stolen by his mother in Cali-fornia and brought to Colorado because the father, who had been giventemporary custody of the child, was a homosexual. Two years later, policelocated and arrested the mother in Colorado, where she was charged withkidnapping and the father filed several motions for custody. This casecame before Judge Reed, who ruled that Colorado had temporary and1. 525 P.2d 1198 (Colo. Ct App. 1974) re-'d 544 P.2d 983, (Colo. 1975).2. 474 P.2d 796 (Colo. Ct. App. 1970), adfl 489 P.2d 308 (Colo. 1971).3. 453 P.2d 810 (Colo. 1969).4. 435 P.2d 899 (Colo. 1968).5. See, e.g., Fugiqive Boy to Surrender, Wash. Post, Apr. 24, 1984, at A4; Son of Gay DadTurns Himsefln, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, Apr. 24, 1984, National, at 6.[Vol. 71:1193]JVOE REEDemergency jurisdiction over the child. The custodies of both parents wereterminated and the child was returned to California. A California courtthen determined the custody question.6Judge Reed also heard several other interesting cases as a trial judge.In City and County of Denver v. District Court7 thejudge considered the so-called "Christmas Eve massacre" of Denver firemen; Rathke v. MacFarlanaddenied a preliminary injunction for a dealer in precious metals who wasaffected by the Precious Metal Dealers Statute.9 When the Eighth Avenueviaduct needed to be rebuilt and the City of Denver ordered .various rail-road companies to pay for the rebuilding, Judge, Reed f6und that the citywas acting without authority and prohibited the city from proceeding.10In Lampe v. Presbyterian Medical Center," Judge Reed sustained terminable-at-will employment. Judge Reed also analyzed whether a discharged em-ployee could recover damages for mental anguish resulting from his dis-charge.12 In a decision of great interest to the local ski industry, JudgeReed rejected an extra-hazardous standard of care for ski operations.'3Another case decided the liability of tavern owners when one intoxicatedcustomer is injured in an automobile accident where another intoxicatedcustomer is the driver.14During the 1970s, three cases were filed in Judge Reed's court by my-self and Greg Ruegsegger acting under appointment from the ColoradoGeneral Assembly. These cases challenged the constitutionality of actionstaken by then Governor Richard Lamm in vetoing line items and foot-notes in the legislative appropriation bill,15 his procedure of transferringfunds between different state departments in contravention of the appro-priation bill' 6 and his supervision and use of federal block grants to thestate.17 All were highly complex constitutional cases, and numerous ex-hibits and witnesses Were presented during the trial. It was during the trialof these three cases that both Greg Ruegsegger and myself came to admireand respect Judge Reed, not only for his outstanding rulings on eviden-tiary and procedural questions, but also because of his wonderful judicialtemperament and the courtesy he extended to legal counsel and "wit-nesses. I still feel that the trial of those cases in Judge Reed's court was6. See People v. Batey, 228 Cal Rptr. 787 (Cal. Ct. App. 1986), cert denied, 480 U.S. 932(1987). See also, e.g., Batey in California Awaiting Custody Decwion, UPI, May 2, 1984, available inLEXIS, Nexis Library, Omni File; Gay Father Wins Fiht For Custody, Aiz. Rxi'tmuc, June 30,1986, at D8.7. 582 P.2d 678 (Colo. 1978).8. 648 P.2d 648 (Colo. 1982).9. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-16-101 to -110 (1986).10. Denver & Rio Grande Western R.R. Co.'v. Denver, 673 P.2d 354 (Colo. 1983).11. 590 P.2d 513 (Colo. Ct. Apo. 1978).12. Adams v. Frontier Airlines Fed. Credit Union, 691 P.2d 352 (Colo. Ct. App. 1984).13. Mannhard v. Clear Creek Skiing Corp., 682 P.2d 64 (Colo. Ct. App. 1983).14. Thomas v. Pete's Satire, Inc., 717 P.2d 509 (Colo. Ct. App. 1985).15. Colorado General Assembly v. Lamm, 704 P.2d 1371 (Colo. 1985); House Bill No.1284 (1982). Ch. 1, § 1, 1982 Colo. Sess. Laws 1.16. Colorado General Assembly v. Lamm, 700 P.2d 508 (Colo. 1985).17. Colorado General Assembly v. Lamm, 738 P.2d 1156 (Colo..1987).1993]DENVER UNVERSTY LAW REVEWone of the most wonderful and reassuring experiences of my career as alawyer.In July 1988, Judge Reed was appointed by Governor Romer to theColorado Court of Appeals. Since that timeJudge Reed has either writtenor participated in several significant and precedent-setting decisions.' 8From a philosophical and jurisprudential standpoint, Judge Reed hasbeen and is a conservative. He feels that appellate law must be clear andshort enough to be read and that it must set forth a truly usable rule.Judge Reed feels that if precedent exists, that precedent should beadopted in any case, without a long discussion as to why the rule is right.Where precedent exists, it is a waste of time and effort to reinvent thewheel.Judge Reed does miss the contact he once had with the practicingbar. He sees progress in that the judges on the Colorado Court of Appealsare developing ways in which they can have more contact with the practic-ing bar and not show any bias or favoritism to any segment of that bar.18. Harrison v. Smith, 821 P.2d 832 (Colo. Ct. App. 1991) (when does a claim becomegroundless because of a lawyer's dereliction); McGee v. Hyatt Legal Sere., 813 P.2d 754(Colo. Ct. App. 1990) (scope of lawyer's duty to his client and her child in dissolution ofmarriage); Martin v. Montezuma-Cortez School Dist. RE-i, 809 P.2d 1010 (Colo. Ct. App.1990) (lawfulness of strike by state employees and damages recoverable) affd in part and rev'din par4 Nos. 90SC562, 90SC568, 1992 WL 303274 (Colo. Oct. 26, 1992); Williams v. FarmersGroup, 781 P.2d 156 (Colo. Ct. App. 1989) (whether personal injury protection is the exclu-sive coverage and excludes claims of bad faith); In re Marriage of Vogt, 773 P.2d 631 (Colo.Ct. App. 1989) (use of "reserve jurisdiction method" for marital dissolution division of con-tingent fees).[Vol. 71:1

The Honorable Harold D. Reed, Colorado Court of Appeals

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The Honorable Harold D. Reed, Colorado Court of Appeals

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