Killmer, Lane & Newman in the News
Leading Ladies - Top Women Lawyers 2013
Law Week Colorado – Each year, Law Week Colorado names a group of leading ladies for their outstanding efforts in the courtroom, the boardroom and on behalf of their communities. . . . For Mari Newman, there was never a doubt what area of law she wanted to go into. . . . "We're incredibly privileged to have the opporunity to work as lawyers," Newman said. "We have an obligation to do something useful for the world." Because of that philosophy, Newman has focused her practice area on civil rights law; she works in employment law, representing employees who have been wronged by discrimination, and in police misconduct cases." READ MORE…
Ethics Commission Postpones Ruling on Scott Gessler's Spending
The Denver Post – After being compelled by the court to testify Friday night, Secretary of State Scott Gessler will have to wait until next Thursday to learn the outcome of his ethics hearing. … Colorado Ethics Watch filed the ethics complaint. Executive director Luis Toro asked whether any of the attendees at the Republican event were Democrats or unaffiliated officeholders. Gessler said he did not know. …Lane argued that the state of Colorado benefited from Gessler's attending the legal conference on elections, where he was a speaker and not required to pay conference registration fees. READ MORE…
Marijuana-Magazines-as-Porn Law, Target of New Lawsuit -- From Booksellers and ACLU
Westword – Last week, we told you about a lawsuit filed by several pot publications over a portion of a newly signed law that essentially treats marijuana magazines like porn. …Constitutional complaints quickly arose over this edict, but it remained in the final version of the bill. Immediately after it passed, attorney David Lane sent an e-mail on the subject to Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. It reads in part, "My own personal belief is that this is a blatant First Amendment violation. It has apparently passed muster with the House and Senate and the governor will be signing it shortly. Please inform Governor Hickenlooper that if this is signed into law, he can expect a First Amendment law suit filed promptly." Lane was as good as his word. The complaint was filed last week on behalf of Trans-High Corporation, parent company of High Times magazine, and two Colorado publications,The Daily Doobie and The Hemp Connoisseur, also known as THC Magazine. READ MORE…
Commute Nathan Dunlap’s Death Sentence
By David A. Lane – Guest Commentary, Denver Post.Com – With the stroke of a pen, Gov. John Hickenlooper can put the brakes on our descent into barbarism. He should grant clemency and convert this death sentence to life without possibility of parole. …The fact is, however, that while there may indeed be an element of vengeance contained in justice, true justice is much more than getting even with an enemy. True justice also factors in mercy and the fundamental dignity of the human being in the dock. That is why true justice will never permit a civilized society to condemn any of its members to die. READ MORE…
Lawyer David Lane on Defending Citizen Initiatives
Colorado Public Television – Lawyer David Lane sits down with host Jon Caldara to discuss why it was important to go to court to overturn a 2009 law restricting Colorado citizen initiatives. Thanks to David Lane, Colorado citizens enjoy better access to petition their government at the state level. SEE MORE...
Councilman Accuses 420 Rally Group Of Hiding Behind First Amendment To Avoid Paying Park Permit Fees
The Denver Channel – The 420 Rally at Denver’s Civic Center Park drew an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 participants. Organizers got the permit for free, but taxpayers will foot the bill for police protection. Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown says that’s not right. He says organizers are hiding behind the First Amendment to avoid paying fees. … Rally organizer Miguel Lopez disputes that and says the main purpose of the rally is to “communicate that prohibition of cannabis on the national level is wrong, un-American and needs to be abolished.” … First Amendment attorney David Lane was more to the point, saying, “If Denver wants to end up in Federal District Court with a guy like me suing them under the First Amendment, then they can start charging fees for free speech.” …Lane said, “Free speech needs to be free. That’s why it’s called free speech.” READ MORE...
Judge: Law on CO Ballot Measures Unconstitutional
Associated Press – First Amendment Center – A federal court says a Colorado law requiring that only state residents be allowed to circulate ballot petitions is a violation of the First Amendment. …That law would also have required signature gatherers to be paid by the hour, not by the signature. … Attorney David Lane, who represented the groups, says he expects the state to appeal. READ MORE…
Lack of Religious Exemption May Bring Suits
Law Week Colorado — The civil unions bill signed into law last week includes no religious exemption. ...Colorado law prohibits virtually all business that offer goods and services to the public from denying services to people based on their sexual orientation. On the other hand, the First Amendment guarantees religious freedom. ...In the 1960s, businesses made religious arguments to justify refusing service to black people or mixed-race couples. The courts rejected these arguments and for the same reason Newman believes courts today will reject religious-based objections to serving or recognizing same-sex couples. ...“These arguments of religious freedom have been used throughout history as an excuse for discrimination,” she said. “It was illegal then, and it’s illegal now.” READ MORE...
Law Firm Urges School District to Rescind Flag Ban Civil Rights Law Firm Accuses District of Harassment, Intimidation
Dolores Star — A Denver-based law firm sent out an eight-page letter Wednesday urging the Dolores School District to rescind its "Free Speech Ban." ...The eight-page legal letter sent out to the school board was written and signed by Mari Newman of the Killmer, Lane & Newman law office, a civil rights law firm. ..."Dolores School administrators touted the new ban as an effort to create an open and tolerant school environment, but instead of leaving students feeling safe and accepted, the ban has taught the students that their opinions, concerns, and political beliefs are not valued and will not be tolerated by the school. This ban and its broad-sweeping effects are in clear violation of the First Amendment and must be rescinded," the letter stated. READ MORE...
FBI Now Looking Into Death of Marvin Booker
DENVER (CBS4) – Agents with the FBI are now looking into the death of a homeless man who died after deputies at the Denver City Jail subdued him. Booker was arrested for having drug paraphernalia in July 2010. Once in the jail he was ordered to sit down, but went after his shoes. Five deputies subdued him, saying he resisted, and Booker was shocked with a stun gun and put under a choke hold. He died after being brought to a cell and then to a hospital. No one was charged or disciplined, and now at the request of Booker’s family, who is suing the city and deputies, the FBI is requesting documents and videotape depositions of the guards. A federal judge refused the city’s request to throw out the family’s lawsuit, saying: “If what happened is what the plaintiff claims, then any reasonable officer in Denver or anywhere else would know that that was excessive force. It’s just not even a close call.” Attorney Darold Killmer is representing Booker’s family. READ MORE...
Rickey Burrell Settlement: $100,000 After Cops Broke His Wrist While He Was Having A Seizure
Westword (Denver) — Police are trained to deal with unruly suspects -- but what if the person in question is in the midst of a medical emergency rather than resisting arrest? This question was at the heart of a lawsuit against the City of Aurora filed after cops responding to a call pertaining to Rickey Burrell broke his wrist even though he was already unconscious after suffering a seizure. ....Unfortunately, Burrell died before the settlement was reached, for reasons unrelated to the incident. But his attorney, Mari Newman, believes the case will serve as part of his legacy. Indeed, the settlement goes beyond the $100,000 reward to a requirement that "the Aurora Police Department properly train officers...." "Police come into contact with people having seizures very frequently. There's really a critical need for first responders, which is often police, to know how to deal appropriately with people suffering medical emergencies -- and not treat them like criminals." READ MORE...
Ward Churchill Loses Appeal to Win Back CU Job
Associated Press - DenverPost.com – The attorney for a former University of Colorado professor who lost his appeal to get his job back after he compared some Sept. 11 victims with a Nazi said Monday he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled university officials qualified for immunity. … "The court never said his First Amendment rights were not violated. They simply said the regents are above the law, which is a dangerous precedent," Lane said. … His termination in 2007 came after an essay he wrote describing some victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as "little Eichmanns," a reference to Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi leader who helped orchestrate the Holocaust. READ MORE…
Mari Newman Named Law Week Colorado's 2012 Barrister's Best Employment Lawyer For Plaintiffs
Law Week Colorado – Mari Newman, like some of our other picks, is good at shining even when the spotlight is trained on someone else …. Newman hasn’t been practicing for that long — 15 years — but she’s consistently recognized as an outstanding attorney. READ MORE…
Study: Colorado's Death Penalty is Unconstitutional
Colorado Public Radio – Prosecutors are weighing whether the Aurora theatre shooting suspect will face the death penalty. But there’s a looming problem: Colorado’s death penalty may be unconstitutional. That’s according to a study by a legal scholars at the University of Denver. CPR’s Ben Markus explains. … Attorney David Lane doesn’t deny that’s a heinous crime, the problem is a lack of consistency. …I can point to 50 heinous and atrocious murders where they didn’t seek the death penalty. READ MORE...
Tempers Rise at Unusual Death Penalty Case Hearing
DenverPost.com – There was never much of a chance that Tuesday’s hearing in the Edward Montour death penalty case was going to be average. … Montour’s attorneys were arguing a somewhat uncommon application of the U.S. Supreme Court case Batson v. Kentucky. In that case, the Court found it is unconstitutional to strike potential jurors from a jury pool based on race. Montour’s attorneys applied that reasoning to change-of-venue decisions and argued that, if the prosecution moved Montour’s case from Lincoln County to Douglas County to get a more favorable racial or socioeconomic makeup of the whole potential jury pool, that is also unconstitutional. READ MORE…
Hotel Employee Claims She Lost Job Because She Had Baby
9NEWS.com (Westminister, Colorado) — A Colorado mom said she lost her job of nine years because she had a baby...."This company obviously needs to change its ways," Newman said. "This serves as an example I think to all of corporate America. Women need to be judged based on their work, not based on their role in their family, the fact that they might have children..." READ MORE...
Reichle v. Howards: First Amendment Retaliatory Arrest, The Secret Service, and Oral Arguments in the United States Supreme Court
Constitutional Law Prof Blog – During oral argumentin the Supreme Court today, the First Amendment took a definite back seat. The case is Reichle v. Howards, on certiorari from the Tenth Circuit, and involved Howard's arrest by Secret Service agents at a mall in Colorado where then-VP Dick Cheney was appearing. Howard was taking his son to a piano recital at the mall and on his cell phone. Apparently, no fan of the VP, Howards stated into his cell phone, "I'm going to ask him [the Vice President] how many kids he's killed today." READ MORE...
KLN at the U.S. Supreme Court in our Nation’s Capitol
Darold Killmer and Mari Newman protesting indefinite detention, torture and suspension of due process for the Guantanamo Bay detainees. SEE MORE…
Occupy Denver Lawsuit: David Lane, Denver Attorney, Files Lawsuit in Defense of Occupy Denver; Judge Dismisses Case
9News – David Lane, a well-known Denver attorney and first amendment defender, thinks that City of Denver authorities have gone too far in their reaction against the Occupy Denver protesters. …Lane plans to seek an injunction in U.S. District Court because he is concerned the city has overreacted and is possibly infringing on the First Amendment rights of the protesters. …Denver Police confirmed that honking a car horn for anything other than an emergency is illegal, but they did not confirm that anyone had been ticketed for doing so at Civic Center Park, according to The Denver Post. …Lane has four issues he and his law firm are going after the city for:ticketing people who honk in support of Occupy Denver, ticketing people who stop to give donations to the protesters, the police's heavy handed reaction against people who put items down on the sidewalk, and possibly even the curfew in the park enforcement. READ MORE...
Aurora Man Demands Justice After Police Incident Last Winter
CBS4 (Aurora, Colorado) — A man who says he was assaulted by police officers when he really needed medical help says he is suing the city of Aurora and the three Aurora police officers who were involved. ...Mari Newman of the law firm Killmer, Lane and Newman is representing Burrell in the suit. “Law enforcement officials in Colorado have lost track of the fact they are here to protect and serve,” Newman said. READ MORE...
Mari Newman Named Law Week Colorado's 2011 Barrister's Best Employment Lawyer For Plaintiffs
Law Week Colorado – It’s astonishing how much Mari Newman has accomplished for someone who received her law degree only 14 years ago. She’s best known as a top-notch civil-rights lawyer, representing Guantanamo detainees or female Colorado prisoners who claimed they were raped by a prison guard. READ MORE…
Teacher Says Pumping Breast Milk Got Her Fired: ACLU Takes Case, Files Claim With EEOC
7News (Evergreen, Colorado) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and the ACLU Women’s Rights Project plan to file a lawsuit against a Jefferson County charter school after it said the school fired a teacher for pumping breast milk during school hours. ... “Colorado’s state statute removes any doubt that working mothers have a right to pump breast milk at work,” said attorney Mari Newman, of Killmer, Lane & Newman LLP. “Discrimination against breastfeeding mothers in the workplace is not only illegal, it’s also bad for Colorado families and businesses because it forces women to choose between breastfeeding their babies or returning to the workplace after giving birth.” READ MORE...
Teen Who Fought Racial Bias Gives Reason to Hope
Denver Post — It is the story of Brandon Anderson-Thayer that gives me hope. No, not just for myself, but for my own children and their children. Maybe for yours, too.... In a scathing report in November, Lucia Guzman, executive director of the city's Agency for Human Rights & Community Relations, which oversees the Anti-Discrimination Office, found that Safeway's actions against Anderson-Thayer "constituted discrimination in a public place of accommodation," that its security guards targeted the three because of their race. ...Maybe Newman, his lawyer, is on to something when she says the kid "is changing corporate behavior by holding Safeway out as an example to other companies." READ MORE...
Lewis: Fired for Doing His Job, Fraud Finder Sues
Dow Jones Newswire — The case "is yet another example of a mortgage industry that believes it is above the law," said Walker's attorney, Mari Newman of Killmer Lane & Newman LLP in Denver. "Apparently, Aurora Loan Services was more interested in concealing potentially fraudulent loans than it was in allowing an honest and hardworking employee to respond to legitimate requests from federal law enforcement," she said. READ MORE...
David Lane Seeks Cases that Keep Government on Leash
The Denver Post – If the case is big and controversial and involves the government and the Bill of Rights — even, and maybe especially, if television cameras are around — Denver attorney David Lane is a good bet to end up in the middle of things. … And he's a true believer. That everyone — everyone — deserves an attorney. That the horrors visited on his Jewish family in Nazi Germany could happen in the United States. That no criminal is as dangerous as a government that can do whatever it wants. …Lanesees redeeming value in everyone, a view that was forged during seven years spent as a public defender in Brooklyn, N.Y. …"When you're working as a public defender, and you see the things that your clients do, you can't help but understand — not necessarily excuse what they do — but understand how they got to where they got, and that's a life-changing insight," Lane said. "When you see the problems of poverty and race and just the despair in the ghettos of Brooklyn for seven years, you come away with different insights into the world than people who are not exposed to those things." READ MORE…
Guantanamo's Detainees Struggle to Trust Even Those Helping Them
Tampa Bay Times (GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba) — Lawyers for the men imprisoned at the U.S. Naval Base here face a lot of obstacles trying to build their cases — vague and unsubstantiated charges, secret evidence, clients racked by long incarcerations. ... Newman and Killmer flew to Yemen and talked to government officials about Yemenis held at Guantanamo. Their three-person law firm paid all the expenses. READ MORE...
Judge: Sexual Abuse of Inmates Distressingly Common in State
Denver Post — A female inmate awarded $1.3 million because she was sexually assaulted by a prison guard was victimized during a period in which 197 reports of sexual misconduct were made against state prison staff. ..."This is an extraordinarily important opinion which will have a major ripple effect on prisons Colorado and nationwide," Newman said. READ MORE...
Jeffco Jury Awards 1.4 Million to Whistle-blower
Rocky Mountain News – Sandra Simmons will never forget the moment General Steel fired her. She was driving to the intensive care unit to see her younger sister, who was dying of kidney and liver failure, when the company informed her over the telephone. …Simmons, 48, lost her job for blowing the whistle on fraudulent activities within the company. …Late Friday, a Jefferson County jury awarded her $1.4 million for standing up to her company, which she accused of illegal sales practices. ...General Steel Corp., a Lakewood-based company that sells steel buildings, is no stranger to the courtroom. ...The Colorado attorney general's office sued the company in 2003, claiming the company used deceptive sales tactics by falsely implying that it sold buildings at factory-direct or clearance prices. …She found several irregularities, and after pointing them out to company owner Jeffrey W. Knight, he fired her in May 2003. ...Mari Newmanof the law firm Killmer, Lane & Newman, which represented Simmons, called the award a fair one READ MORE...
2 Sue to Void Ban on Same-Sex Marriage
New York Times (Denver) — A lesbian couple from nearby Englewood are seeking to overturn Colorado’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, in what is thought to be the first challenge to the 2006 ballot initiative that established it. ...“The American system does not allow for the tyranny of the majority,” said the couple’s lawyer, Mari Newman. “Marriage is a fundamental right, which should be for all Coloradans, not just some Coloradans.” READ MORE...
Silent Flag Protest Raises Outcry Denver Post — Hammer contends displaying the U.S. flag upside down is her First Amendment right of free speech. She has hired a Denver civil rights lawyer, Mari Newman. "Just because she lives in a covenant-controlled community doesn't mean she gives up her rights to free speech," Newman said. READ MORE...
What's in a Name? Qusair Mohamedbhai Just Wanted to Open a Bank Account. Instead, He Was Labeled a Terrorist.
Westword (Denver) — ...Now, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He called his parents, and they said that sort of thing just happens in this country: Americans are racist toward Muslims. But that explanation didn't sit right with Mohamedbhai. He talked to a friend he played volleyball with, a Saudi Arabian man with a thick, Arab accent and a long, bushy beard. The friend fed him the same line, saying that he and his family were hassled every day and that Americans are just racist toward anyone who is Arab or Muslim. "And that was the idea that stuck in my mind," Mohamedbhai says. "That these Americans are just racist against people with Arab last names, that's just the way it is. But I felt like that wasn't true, and that it shouldn't be like that. And I started getting cheesy and stuff and thinking I'm going to have kids one day, they're going to have my last name, and this has got to stop."... Stuck, Mohamedbhai asked around his office for the name of a good civil-rights lawyer and was referred to Darold Killmer and Mari Newman. READ MORE...
Transgender Woman Wins Discrimination Ruling
7 News (Denver) — The Colorado Civil Rights Division has ruled that the firing of a transgender woman was the result of illegal sex discrimination, according to lawyers representing her. ... According to attorney Mari Newman, Cornwell was known most of her life as David Cornwell but began transitioning to a female gender in June 2005 and informed the company that she was a transsexual. She was fired a month later by Intermountain Testing of Greenwood Village, Colo., Newman said. ...The civil rights division issued a "probable cause" finding against ITC that the company illegally discriminated against Cornwell on the basis of sex when it fired her, Newman said. "This finding is a great step forward, not only for Ms. Cornwell, but for all transgender victims of discrimination in Colorado,” said Newman of the Denver civil rights firm Killmer, Lane & Newman, LLP. READ MORE...
Judge Rules Labor, Stillbirth Can Justify Inmate's Lawsuit
Associated Press — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a former Colorado prison inmate who sued three prison workers claiming a lack of medical attention resulted in the stillbirth of her fetus can pursue her lawsuit despite arguments that her case was barred under federal law. Clifton's attorney, Mari Newman, said the lawsuit seeks whatever damages a federal jury determines is appropriate. She said the ruling will have reverberations beyond Colorado. "It's important not only for prisoner's rights, but also for women's rights," Newman said. READ MORE...
Judge Ponders Restrictions on Protests
Rocky Mountain News — Federal Judge Richard Matsch is now faced with the tricky proposition of balancing the rights of free speech with security and safety concerns in a post-Sept. 11 world. ...The lawsuit centers on the anti-war group's belief that they were unfairly restricted from demonstrating outside a NATO conference in 2003 at the Broadmoor Resort. ...Mari Newman, one of the group's lawyers, said the group could have easily been allowed into the secure zone because all previously had agreed to background checks and identity checks and would have walked on foot to the disputed area - a stretch of sidewalk outside the International Center where NATO officials and the media were encamped for the two-day conference. She said the city's arguments about car bomb threats and possible blast radiuses were irrelevant to the case and that the World Trade Organization argument had little bearing on this issue. "These are not dangerous people," she said. Newman also took umbrage at the city's claim that NATO's wishes for not allowing demonstrators near the International Center trumped the rights to free speech. "The federal Constitution doesn't give way to the will of other countries," she said. She also blasted the city's key witness, who testified he had a handshake agreement with many of the conference's participants not to allow protesters near the International Center. "The Constitution can't be eviscerated with a handshake," Newman said. READ MORE...
Lodge Casino Pays 225,000 Dollars to Settle Discrimination Claims
Out Front Colorado — The Lodge Casino at Blackhawk paid an additional $225,000 in order to settle claims alleging discrimination and retaliation in violation of the American with Disabilities Act, commonly known as the ADA. Two executives of the Lodge previously paid $60,000 last February in order to resolve the claims brought against them individually for their role in the discrimination and retaliation. ...The Lodge and two top executives have collectively paid a total of $285,000 in exchange for Bruno and Gish’s agreement to drop the case. According to attorney Darold Killmer, a partner of the Denver civil rights law firm of Killmer & Lane, “We are very pleased with the outcome of this case. This substantial settlement sends a strong message to would-be discriminators that such behavior is simply unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Discrimination doesn’t pay.” Despite requests by Bruno and Gish’s attorneys, the Lodge has refused to make commitments to train its employees regarding issues of diversity and discrimination, as well as HIV awareness and safety. According to attorney Mari Newman, also a partner at Killmer & Lane, “The Casino should learn its lesson, having paid out nearly $300,000 in these cases. Its refusal to commit to training its employees on issues of discrimination and HIV awareness is a sad reminder that bigotry is not easy to erase.” READ MORE...
Denver Anesthesiologist Wins 1.7 Million Dollar Award in Lawsuit: Jury Finds Against Her Former Employer
Rocky Mountain News — A Denver anesthesiologist who sued her former employer for unlawful retaliation after she was banned from Rose Medical Center and rejected for disability benefits has won $1.7 million in damages. ...McCroskey's 1997 lawsuit accused CAC President Dr. Ronald E. Stevens of spearheading a "vicious campaign of retaliation," triggered by McCroskey's support of another female physician's claim of gender discrimination against CAC. ...Although she was reinstated and exonerated by the hospital's disciplinary board six months later, Killmer said there was an implication that McCroskey's suspension was caused by a "drug problem." …."That was tremendously damaging to her career," said Killmer, "and I think the jury's award reflects their anger that CAC would reach so far out to do something like that." READ MORE...
Out of Africa House
A federal jury last February awarded Foote $2.85 million, possibly the state's largest landlord discrimination award, against the Yarmouth Group Property Management and Tabor Center Associates. …"Suddenly, I realized I'm losing my business and everything I worked for," she said. "I cried as if somebody died." …Killmer said he believes the award in the case was so large because, "It was clear discrimination, coupled with their insistent denials." READ MORE…
Former Hotel Manager Wins 4 Million Dollars in Bias Suit
The Denver Post — A Denver district court jury awarded nearly $ 4 million to a former general hotel manager, an Arab-American, Tuesday afternoon in a racial discrimination suit against the Executive Tower Hotel. Khatib, 47, worked at the hotel for 18 years after he emigrated from Israel to the United States in 1977 and began working as a night clerk, Killmer said. For the last three years, Khatib served as general manager. READ MORE...