The Rule of Law in Action

Audio Transcription

This is a series of panels, explaining the history of the rule of law in Colorado through words and images. We are ruled by the law, even as the people who serve in our government change, and even as the laws change. Our laws are based on the separation of powers, guaranteed Individual rights, due process of law, and equal protection of the laws. Even as there are new laws and applications of laws, these principles guide our course. This wall shows historical moments demonstrating the importance of the rule of law. The first panel has the following events: 1776 the Declaration of Independence, 1789 Ratification of the US Constitution. There is a copy of the Declaration of Independence, a portrait of Thomas Jefferson in black and white, and a lithograph of the signing of the Constitution. The next panel has one event: 1803 Marbury v Madison recognizes judicial review of laws for constitutionality. This is accompanied by a portrait of James Madison with white hair, a dark coat and a lace collar. Below that is a portrait of William Marbury with salt and pepper hair, a dark coat and a simple collar. Next to those is a portrait of John Marshall, then the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He is also white-haired and wearing a dark coat and holds a leather bound book. The next panel covers two events: First, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Mexico cedes lands that later become part of the Colorado Territory. Consistent with the US Constitution, the treaty recognizes property and citizenship rights for Hispanic settlers on those lands. Second, the 1868 Ute Indian Treaty. Creates a Ute reservation and recognizes the sovereignty of the Ute Nation under the laws of the United States. These are accompanied by an early map of the area that became Colorado. In the bottom left is an early photograph of Chief Ignacio. He stares directly into the lens, his hair swept back and decorated with feathers. He wears a suit. On the bottom right is a photograph of Chief Buckskin Charlie. He also stares directly into the lens, he is wearing a feathered head dress, a beaded choker, and a fringed buckskin shirt. The next panel has six events: First, in 1861 the Colorado Territorial Supreme Court, District Courts, Probate Courts and Justices of the Peace are established by Congress. Second, in 1861 the first land and water laws of the Colorado Territorial Legislature recognize the rights of settlers to use land, water, minerals, timber, and other natural resources on federal lands and to claim privately-owned property rights for them. Third, in 1861, property rights for married women are expanded by the Territorial Legislature. Fourth, in 1861 a comprehensive School Law is adopted by the Territorial Legislature. Fifth, in 1862 the right of for-profit businesses to incorporate is adopted by the Territorial Legislature. And sixth, in 1864 prior appropriation is first identified by the Territorial Legislature to govern the use of water rights. These are accompanied by a black and white photograph of the US flag as it was before Colorado statehood. The next panel has two events: First, the 1867 Territorial Suffrage Act of Congress eliminates race, color, or previous condition of servitude as disqualifying conditions for voting by men in Colorado and other western territories. Passed in large measure due to advocacy by African Americans in Colorado, the law allowed black men to vote in the territories three years before ratification of the 15th Amendment. Second, in 1868 the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution applies the guarantees of due process and equal protection of the laws to state and local governmental action. These are accompanied by a black and white portrait of Abraham Lincoln. The next panel has two events: First, in 1859 Miners' Courts. Groups of miners establish boundaries, define property rights, elect officers, set up courts, and punish criminals. Second, the 1872 Mining Act of Congress allows miners to own hard rock mineral rights on federal lands. These are accompanied by four black and white pictures of mining camps. There are canvas tents, some equipped with stoves. The miners wear dark wool clothes and blue jeans. They favor bushy moustaches, beards, and large floppy hats. The next panel has one event: In 1876 Congress admits the State of Colorado to the Union with the right to have its own legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. The Colorado Constitution: - Establishes the Colorado Supreme Court, District Courts, County Courts, and Justices of the Peace - Requires that until 1900, Colorado Statutes must be published in Spanish and German in addition to English. - Requires the Colorado Legislature to create laws for the organization of corporations. - Establishes public ownership of natural stream waters, subject to appropriation in order of priority by public agencies and private persons. - Provides for a private right of condemnation, with payment of just compensation, for rights of way necessary to store and convey water to the place of use. - Requires preservation of forests on the land, and - Prohibits distinctions based on race or color in public schools. The top of the exhibit has the preamble of the handwritten Constitution of Colorado. The bottom of the panel has a US flag from the time Colorado became a state. The next panel has one event: In 1893 women's right to vote is established by Colorado voters. Three pictures are on the panel. The first is a Suffragette holding a banner that reads "Colorado Women are Citizens". The Second is one of Suffragettes in front of a billboard urging Colorado women voters to help women in the rest of the country get the vote by voting against Woodrow Wilson. The third is a full-length photograph of Minnie Reynolds Scalabrino. She is a white woman wearing glasses, a coat, hat and a black dress from the late 1800s. She is standing in front of a canvas background painting of trees. Minnie Reynolds Scalabrino was a Colorado Suffragette and journalist for the Rocky Mountain News. She applied pressure to the Colorado Legislature to put women's suffrage on the ballot. The next panel has three events: First, in 1899 the first juvenile laws are adopted by the Colorado Legislature. Second, in 1903 the first Juvenile Court is established by the Colorado Legislature. Third, in 1911 child labor laws are adopted by the Colorado Legislature. These are accompanied by three pictures, all in black and white. In the first one, a group of young boys dressed in straw hats, blue jeans and what appears to be light cloth shirts and canvas jackets. They hold a hoe and two men stand behind them as if supervising. The second one is a group of young boys, similarly dressed, shining each other's shoes as if learning how to do it. The third one is a group of 30 schoolboys, probably a class. One is black, the rest are white. Two of the boys are blurry, having moved while the shutter is open. There are three middle aged white men and one in his late 20s, wearing ties and suits that were fashionable in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The next panel has one event: In 1895 the public accommodations act of the Colorado Legislature provides that all persons are entitled to full and equal enjoyment of all places of public accommodation, such as restaurants, barbershops, theatres, and public transportation. There are four pictures, all black and white. The first contains five men, three white and two black, wearing a dark uniform complete with hats that are similar to the ones worn by railroad conductors. The man in the center is holding a cigar. They were prison guards. The second shows the front desk of a hotel with a large clock, and a wall with pegs holding room keys. Two white men are behind the counter, and a young boy stands in front of it. A Hispanic man in a suit, carrying a suitcase appears to be checking in, as does a nearby white man in a suit and hat. The third photograph is four men in firefighter class A uniforms in front of Denver Fire Department Engine Company 3. The date over the door to where the fire engine is parked is dated 1931. The fire engine they have parked out front is from the late 1910s or early 1920s and may be the engine they use for parades and funerals. The fourth photograph is of six men who were police officers in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Five are patrol officers with high bowlers and billy clubs. The sixth is a desk officer with a flat hat. One of the patrol officers is black. The next panel has one event: In 1922 the Colorado River Compacts are negotiated by the seven Colorado River Basin states, apportioning interstate waters for beneficial uses in perpetuity. Colorado is party to eight later river compacts. There is a large black and white photograph of the headwaters of the Colorado River cutting through the Rocky Mountains. There is also a copy of the front page of the 1922 Colorado River Pact as it was presented to the Department of State. The next panel has two events: First, in 1924 U.S Citizenship of Native Americans is recognized by Congress. Second, in 1934 Tribal Adoption of Constitutions, laws and courts, is approved by Congress. The accompanying black and white photo is of Calvin Coolidge, the president in 1924, wearing a dark suit with a white shirt and carrying a fedora. He is flanked by members of the Osage Nation. The two on the left are wearing fringed buckskin with symbols of deer. The one closest to Coolidge wears a small headdress. The one on the right closest to Coolidge wears tribal garb in darker colors and the one on the right is wearing a dark suit and tie with a light-colored shirt. His hair is white, while the others are dark. The next panel has three events: First, in 1944 women's right to serve on juries is established by Colorado voters. Second, in 1948 racially restrictive housing covenants are ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme court. Shelley v Kraemer. Third, in 1951 the Colorado anti-discrimination act establishes Colorado's first fair employment law for public employees and creates an anti-discrimination division within the Colorado Industrial Commission. There is an enlargement of a newspaper article and picture concerning Mrs. Albert Rogers, the first woman to sit on a jury. The case was a burglary. Five women are shown in the jury box in the accompanying black and white photograph, but none of them are identified. The next panel has four events: First, in 1954 Brown v Board of Education was announced by the US Supreme Court. This case declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. Second, in 1957 the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act is amended to include private employers, repeal the ban on interracial marriage, and bring public accommodations under the jurisdiction of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Commission. Third, in 1959 the Colorado Fair Housing Law is the first in the US to prohibit discrimination in both public and private housing based on race, creed, color, national origin, or ancestry. Fourth, in 1967 the right to terminate pregnancy is established by the Colorado Legislature in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the health of the woman. At the top there is a photo of a segregated classroom where a white teacher is surrounded by her black students. At the bottom left there is a picture of Duckwall Store, with a black salesman and a white salesman unpacking Halloween costumes which are hanging behind them in the center of the photograph. Shelves of department store goods are on either side of them, and a tricycle is on display in front of them. Next to this photo is a photo of Earl Mann, a black man in a suit of the style of the 1940s. He was a journalist and member of the Colorado Legislature. The next panel has five events: First, in 1969 seven water courts are established by the Colorado Legislature in the major river basins within Colorado. Second, the 1970 Clean Air Acts of Congress and the Colorado Legislature are enacted to protect public health and welfare. Third, in 1972 the Clean Water Acts of Congress and Colorado Legislature are enacted to protect public health and drinking water, agricultural, recreational and environmental water uses. Fourth, the 1973 US Endangered Species Act is enacted to protect endangered plants, birds and animals. Fifth, in 1976 the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act is enacted governing the disposal of solid and hazardous waste. There is a photo of a Canadian Lynx trotting across a snowy field. The other photo is of a black-footed ferret. The next panel has five events: First, in 1973 the US Supreme Court prohibits segregation in Denver public schools, upholding the decision of the Colorado US District Court. Keyes v School District No.1. Second, in 1992 Amendment 2 to the State Constitution, approved by the Colorado voters. This amendment prevents state and local governmental agencies from enacting legislation or policies that would prohibit discrimination against homosexual, lesbian or bisexual persons. Third, in 1994 Amendment 2 is ruled unconstitutional by the Colorado Supreme Court as an infringement of the rights of gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals to participate equally in the political process, not the least restrictive means of ensuring religious liberty of those religiously opposed to homosexuality, and not narrowly tailored to serve the compelling governmental interest in ensuring the free exercise of religion. That case is Evans v Romer. Fourth, in 1996 Amendment 2 ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court as a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. That case is Romer v Evans. Fifth, in 2000 the right to enter and leave health care clinics to terminate pregnancy without being physically harassed (the "Bubble Bill" adopted by the Colorado Legislature) is upheld by the Colorado and US Supreme Courts. That case is Hill v Colorado. The accompanying photo is of a crowd made of mostly women wearing t shirts and carrying signs in support of the Equal Rights Amendment. The final panel has only a quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower: "The clearest way to show what the rule of law means to us in everyday life is to recall what has happened when there is no rule of law."