Chief Judge, United States District Court. The Honorable Judge Sherman G. Finesilver was appointed to the United States District Court by President Nixon and was sworn in October 22, 1971. His appointment was sponsored by the then United States Senators from Colorado Gordon Allott and Peter Dominick. Finesilver served as the Chief Judge of the Court from April 8, 1982 until 1994. Following his retirement and, up until his death, Judge Finesilver served as a mediator in Federal cases. These cases were assigned by the United States Supreme Court. Finesilver was respected by both local and national lawyers and judges and litigants during his esteemed career. He was 79.
He graduated from Westminster College of Law (now the University Of Denver School Of Law) and worked in the city attorney's office in Denver, Colorado after passing the Colorado Bar. In 1955, at the age of 28, he was appointed a Denver municipal judge. In 1962 he was elected and subsequently re-elected to the Denver District Court. The United States District Court appointment would follow in 1971.
Judge Finesilver graduated from North High School, Denver, Colorado, and was selected as an All-City football Center.
Judge Finesilver and his wife Annette published a very successful safety guide titled PROTECT YOURSELF...WISE WORDS FOR WOMEN. The booklet would see many printings and was distributed nationally.
Judge Finesilver was awarded honorary doctorates from Gallaudet University in Washington D.D for his championship of the rights of the deaf, from New York Law School for his pioneering role for the legislation of organ transplants, and Metropolitan State College. He received the George Norlin Award and an honorary doctorate in 1988 as an outstanding alumnus from the University of Colorado.
He held the Chairmanship of the American Citizenship Committee of the Colorado bar.
In 1995 The Reader's Digest Magazine published a story written by Judge Finesilver that dealt with his flunking out of law school at the University of Colorado. Below is an excerpt from that article and is a reflection of Judge Finesilver's optimism and hope for others.
"Sooner or later, everyone will fall short at something important to them - whether it be a job, a dream or a relationship. Flunking out of law school, I believe, made me a better judge; it certainly taught me about the frailties of the human condition, and about the need to give people second chances. But failure also taught me that life is a road with unpredictable forks and unexpected tomorrows. To take advantage of them, you can't let yourself be destroyed by a defeat, or let others set the limits on your ability to achieve."
____________________
THE COLORADO LAWYER
November 2006
Vol. 35, No. 11
(p 123)
IN MEMORIAM
Sherman G. Finesilver
Sherman G. Finesilver died on October 12, 2006. He was 79. A Colorado native, Finesilver received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and his J.D. degree from the Westminster College of Law (now the University of Denver Sturm College of Law). In 1955, he was appointed a Municipal Judge. In 1971, President Richard Nixon appointed him to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, where he became Chief Judge in 1982. During his judicial career, Finesilver presided over several prominent cases, including a plea bargain related to Rocky Flats environmental violations; a consolidated trial of lawsuits resulting from the 1987 Continental Airlines crash at Stapleton Airport; and a $49.5 million settlement of the government's case against directors of the Silverado Banking, Savings & Loan, including Neil Bush. After retiring from the Bench in 1994, Finesilver worked in mediation and arbitration and spent his free time fly-fishing. He was a member of the CBA and DBA for more than fifty years.
____________________
ONE OF THE GREATEST
The Colorado Lawyer
July 2015
By John S. Kintzele
Sherman G. Finesilver (1927–2006)
About the Author
Jack Kintzele has been practicing law for fifty-three years. He is a member of the American, Colorado, Denver, and Arapahoe County Bar Associations and is a Colorado Bar and Arapahoe County Bar Foundation Fellow. He is an author and former lecturer, and served as Denver Election Commissioner for several years during the 1970s and 1980s. He is 78 and is retiring this year, and plans to travel the world with his wife—[email protected].
Keep these concepts in mind: You’ve failed many times, although you don’t remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim. R. H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on. Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times. Don’t worry about failure. My suggestion to each of you: Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.
Sherman Glenn Finesilver, U.S. Federal District Court Judge Sherman Glenn Finesilver—also known as "Shermie"
"Judge Please" was born on October 1, 1927. A Colorado native, he graduated from Denver’s North High School, where he was selected as an All-City football player. Finesilver received his BA from the University of Colorado (CU) in 1949 and his JD from the Westminster College of Law (now the University of Denver Sturm College of Law) in 1952.
He was in private practice in Denver from 1952 to 1955 and also served as an assistant Denver City Attorney during that time period. In 1955, at age 28, he was appointed as a judge to the Denver Municipal Court for the City and County of Denver. In 1962, he was elected a district court judge in the Second Judicial District for the City and County of Denver, where he served until 1971.
In September 1971, Judge Finesilver was nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, which would become vacant by the retirement of William E. Doyle. He was sworn in on October 22. From 1982 to 1994, he served as the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for District of Colorado. On May 31, 1994, he assumed senior status of the Federal District Court before he retired from judicial duties later that year.
Following his retirement, Judge Finesilver resumed private practice in Denver. In retirement, Judge Finesilver served as a mediator in numerous federal cases assigned by the U.S. Supreme Court. He died on October 12, 2006, at age 79.
An Unexpected Beginning to an Illustrious Career
Given his impressive résumé, readers may be surprised to learn that Finesilver flunked out of CU Law School after his first year. He had completed his undergraduate studies at CU, where he easy-timed his way through that part of his education, frivolously not realizing or appreciating that law school is much harder.
Years later, Judge Finesilver authored the following essay, which appeared in Reader’s Digest in 1995:
Turning Point: The Day I Flunked Out of Law School
This federal judge once looked down the barrel of failure.
My father knew that something was amiss when he encountered me, late one afternoon, sitting on the stoop of our west Denver house. The dean of the University of Colorado School of Law, I said, decided that I couldn’t return to classes next fall. My grades were too low.
After listening calmly, my father then contacted Edward C. King, the law school dean. But there was no changing the decision. Sherm is a terrific young man, Dean King said, but he’ll never make a lawyer. He urged me to look for another career. In the meantime, he advised that I stay put in the grocery store where I worked on weekends.
I wrote a note to the dean, and requested re-admission. It went unanswered. Even today, words cannot describe my upset. I’d never really failed at anything significant. In high school I’d been a popular student and a highly regarded football player. I’d coasted through the University of Colorado at Boulder without working up a major sweat and was duly admitted to its prestigious law school.
My dad’s own schooling hadn’t gone past the sixth grade, and he was a railway mail clerk for more than forty years. But he loved learning, and he knew how much I wanted to become a lawyer. He suggested I look at Westminster College of Law (now part of the University of Denver College of Law), where classes were held at night.
Dad’s advice was perfectly practical. It also hurt like hell. The University of Colorado at Boulder was a Taj Mahal—the door to judicial clerkships and prestigious law firms. Westminster was Tramway Tech—a poor man’s school with no tenured professors or law review, whose students held down day jobs.
Visualizing myself at Westminster after Boulder was galling. And in truth, my self-confidence was badly shaken; maybe I wasn’t cut out to study law. But in the end I went to see Clifford Mills, Westminster’s dean.
Mill’s read my college transcript, and I’ll never forget him peering at me over the rim of his glasses. "Finesilver," he said bluntly, "the only thing you did well in Boulder was athletics, a Spanish course and your fraternity." He was right. I’d made it through, but lack of academic commitment and good study habits had finally caught up with me.
Dean Mills let me enroll at Westminster, on one condition: that I repeat all my first-year classes, this time paying attention. "I’ll be looking over your shoulder," he said.
One door had closed. But others opened.
Given a second chance, I worked much harder, becoming fascinated by the law of evidence. In my second year, the professor who taught the course passed away. I was asked to take over—inconceivable at a law school like Boulder. Evidence became a lifelong specialty, and for many years I taught classes on the subject for judges, law students and practicing lawyers throughout the country.
Meanwhile I worked days in the Denver City Attorney’s office as a clerk. It was anything but glamorous. But it led to a job as an assistant city attorney after graduation.
I would become a county judge at age 28, one of Denver’s youngest. Later I was elected as a district judge, and then appointed by the President to the federal judiciary as a U.S. District judge. And, ultimately, I did return to Boulder—to receive the University of Colorado’s George Norlin Award, and an honorary doctorate of law. Sooner or later everyone will fall short at something important to them—whether it be a job, a dream or a relationship. Flunking out of law school, I believe, made me a better judge; it certainly taught me about the frailties of the human condition, and about the need to give people second chances.
But failure also taught me that life is a road with unpredictable forks and unexpected tomorrows. To take advantage of them, you can’t let yourself be destroyed by a defeat, or let others set the limits on your ability to achieve.
Apparently at a young age, Finesilver had thoroughly analyzed, accepted, and admitted his failure, and worked his way through Westminster Law School by attending night school and working at the City Attorney’s Office. He was also astute enough to recognize what he wanted to do with his life and then tackle what was required of him to achieve it. He did that, and then some. Further, Finesilver knew enough to exert his best efforts to what many consider the two most tedious areas of the law: evidence and civil procedure. Somehow, he knew they were incredibly important to being competent in the courtroom.
Judicial Highlights
During his judicial career, Judge Finesilver presided over several prominent cases, including a plea bargain related to Rocky Flats environmental violations; a consolidated trial of lawsuit resulting from the 1987 Continental Airlines crash at Stapleton Airport; and a $49.5 million settlement of the government’s case against directors of the Silverado Banking, Savings & Loan, including Neil Bush/
Judge Finesilver also presided over all the Colorado swine flu cases, most of which, if not all, were tried at night because of an overworked docket in this judicial district. In Colorado’s most serious swine flu case, Judge Finesilver approved a settlement whereby the government has over years paid several million dollars on an increasing annuity basis (the victim was originally paralyzed but thereafter partially recovered).
It is believed other cases that were tried in his court were decided in favor of the government. A Champion for the Disabled and Those Discriminated Against. Although conservative by nature and political persuasion, Judge Finesilver did much to help and assist the disabled and those who were being unfairly discriminated against. He was awarded honorary doctorates from Gallaudet University in Washington, DC for his championship of the rights of the deaf; from New York Law School for his pioneering role for the legislation of organ transplants; and from Metropolitan State College.8 He received the George Norlin Award and an honorary doctorate in 1988 as an outstanding alumnus of CU. Judge Finesilver and his wife Annette also published a very successful safety guide titled "Protect Yourself: Wise Words for Women." The booklet would see many printings and was distributed nationally. Further, Judge Finesilver at times did things in an effort to improve the human condition, such as teaching people, particularly the elderly, to drive more safely at night.
A good fish story.
Conclusion
It was a core belief of Judge Finesilver that people shouldn’t consider themselves overly important without justification. He sometimes said, "Do not confuse notoriety and fame with greatness, [f]or you see, greatness is a measure of one’s spirit, not a result of one’s rank in human affairs." Judge Finesilver left much to be followed in his career as a lawyer, as a judge, and as a human being. He was certainly justified in being named among Colorado’s Greatest.
____________________
Judge Finesilver was a Mason.
Great-Grandparent:
David Louis Carter (1831-1914)
Grandparents:
Hyman Balaban (1865-1922)
Sarah Balaban (1868-1941)
Parents:
Rebecca Finesilver (1895-1981)
Harry Finesilver (1894-1964)
Siblings:
Doris Weinreich (1916-1996)
Mildred Reflow (1918-1998)
Oscar Finesilver (1924-1999)
Spouse: Annette Warren (M: 6-23-1954) . Judge & Mrs. Finesilver were married for 52 years.
Children: Jay Mark Finesilver, Steven Brad Finesilver, and Susan Finesilver
He graduated from Westminster College of Law (now the University Of Denver School Of Law) and worked in the city attorney's office in Denver, Colorado after passing the Colorado Bar. In 1955, at the age of 28, he was appointed a Denver municipal judge. In 1962 he was elected and subsequently re-elected to the Denver District Court. The United States District Court appointment would follow in 1971.
Judge Finesilver graduated from North High School, Denver, Colorado, and was selected as an All-City football Center.
Judge Finesilver and his wife Annette published a very successful safety guide titled PROTECT YOURSELF...WISE WORDS FOR WOMEN. The booklet would see many printings and was distributed nationally.
Judge Finesilver was awarded honorary doctorates from Gallaudet University in Washington D.D for his championship of the rights of the deaf, from New York Law School for his pioneering role for the legislation of organ transplants, and Metropolitan State College. He received the George Norlin Award and an honorary doctorate in 1988 as an outstanding alumnus from the University of Colorado.
He held the Chairmanship of the American Citizenship Committee of the Colorado bar.
In 1995 The Reader's Digest Magazine published a story written by Judge Finesilver that dealt with his flunking out of law school at the University of Colorado. Below is an excerpt from that article and is a reflection of Judge Finesilver's optimism and hope for others.
"Sooner or later, everyone will fall short at something important to them - whether it be a job, a dream or a relationship. Flunking out of law school, I believe, made me a better judge; it certainly taught me about the frailties of the human condition, and about the need to give people second chances. But failure also taught me that life is a road with unpredictable forks and unexpected tomorrows. To take advantage of them, you can't let yourself be destroyed by a defeat, or let others set the limits on your ability to achieve."
____________________
THE COLORADO LAWYER
November 2006
Vol. 35, No. 11
(p 123)
IN MEMORIAM
Sherman G. Finesilver
Sherman G. Finesilver died on October 12, 2006. He was 79. A Colorado native, Finesilver received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and his J.D. degree from the Westminster College of Law (now the University of Denver Sturm College of Law). In 1955, he was appointed a Municipal Judge. In 1971, President Richard Nixon appointed him to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, where he became Chief Judge in 1982. During his judicial career, Finesilver presided over several prominent cases, including a plea bargain related to Rocky Flats environmental violations; a consolidated trial of lawsuits resulting from the 1987 Continental Airlines crash at Stapleton Airport; and a $49.5 million settlement of the government's case against directors of the Silverado Banking, Savings & Loan, including Neil Bush. After retiring from the Bench in 1994, Finesilver worked in mediation and arbitration and spent his free time fly-fishing. He was a member of the CBA and DBA for more than fifty years.
____________________
ONE OF THE GREATEST
The Colorado Lawyer
July 2015
By John S. Kintzele
Sherman G. Finesilver (1927–2006)
About the Author
Jack Kintzele has been practicing law for fifty-three years. He is a member of the American, Colorado, Denver, and Arapahoe County Bar Associations and is a Colorado Bar and Arapahoe County Bar Foundation Fellow. He is an author and former lecturer, and served as Denver Election Commissioner for several years during the 1970s and 1980s. He is 78 and is retiring this year, and plans to travel the world with his wife—[email protected].
Keep these concepts in mind: You’ve failed many times, although you don’t remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim. R. H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on. Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times. Don’t worry about failure. My suggestion to each of you: Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.
Sherman Glenn Finesilver, U.S. Federal District Court Judge Sherman Glenn Finesilver—also known as "Shermie"
"Judge Please" was born on October 1, 1927. A Colorado native, he graduated from Denver’s North High School, where he was selected as an All-City football player. Finesilver received his BA from the University of Colorado (CU) in 1949 and his JD from the Westminster College of Law (now the University of Denver Sturm College of Law) in 1952.
He was in private practice in Denver from 1952 to 1955 and also served as an assistant Denver City Attorney during that time period. In 1955, at age 28, he was appointed as a judge to the Denver Municipal Court for the City and County of Denver. In 1962, he was elected a district court judge in the Second Judicial District for the City and County of Denver, where he served until 1971.
In September 1971, Judge Finesilver was nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, which would become vacant by the retirement of William E. Doyle. He was sworn in on October 22. From 1982 to 1994, he served as the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for District of Colorado. On May 31, 1994, he assumed senior status of the Federal District Court before he retired from judicial duties later that year.
Following his retirement, Judge Finesilver resumed private practice in Denver. In retirement, Judge Finesilver served as a mediator in numerous federal cases assigned by the U.S. Supreme Court. He died on October 12, 2006, at age 79.
An Unexpected Beginning to an Illustrious Career
Given his impressive résumé, readers may be surprised to learn that Finesilver flunked out of CU Law School after his first year. He had completed his undergraduate studies at CU, where he easy-timed his way through that part of his education, frivolously not realizing or appreciating that law school is much harder.
Years later, Judge Finesilver authored the following essay, which appeared in Reader’s Digest in 1995:
Turning Point: The Day I Flunked Out of Law School
This federal judge once looked down the barrel of failure.
My father knew that something was amiss when he encountered me, late one afternoon, sitting on the stoop of our west Denver house. The dean of the University of Colorado School of Law, I said, decided that I couldn’t return to classes next fall. My grades were too low.
After listening calmly, my father then contacted Edward C. King, the law school dean. But there was no changing the decision. Sherm is a terrific young man, Dean King said, but he’ll never make a lawyer. He urged me to look for another career. In the meantime, he advised that I stay put in the grocery store where I worked on weekends.
I wrote a note to the dean, and requested re-admission. It went unanswered. Even today, words cannot describe my upset. I’d never really failed at anything significant. In high school I’d been a popular student and a highly regarded football player. I’d coasted through the University of Colorado at Boulder without working up a major sweat and was duly admitted to its prestigious law school.
My dad’s own schooling hadn’t gone past the sixth grade, and he was a railway mail clerk for more than forty years. But he loved learning, and he knew how much I wanted to become a lawyer. He suggested I look at Westminster College of Law (now part of the University of Denver College of Law), where classes were held at night.
Dad’s advice was perfectly practical. It also hurt like hell. The University of Colorado at Boulder was a Taj Mahal—the door to judicial clerkships and prestigious law firms. Westminster was Tramway Tech—a poor man’s school with no tenured professors or law review, whose students held down day jobs.
Visualizing myself at Westminster after Boulder was galling. And in truth, my self-confidence was badly shaken; maybe I wasn’t cut out to study law. But in the end I went to see Clifford Mills, Westminster’s dean.
Mill’s read my college transcript, and I’ll never forget him peering at me over the rim of his glasses. "Finesilver," he said bluntly, "the only thing you did well in Boulder was athletics, a Spanish course and your fraternity." He was right. I’d made it through, but lack of academic commitment and good study habits had finally caught up with me.
Dean Mills let me enroll at Westminster, on one condition: that I repeat all my first-year classes, this time paying attention. "I’ll be looking over your shoulder," he said.
One door had closed. But others opened.
Given a second chance, I worked much harder, becoming fascinated by the law of evidence. In my second year, the professor who taught the course passed away. I was asked to take over—inconceivable at a law school like Boulder. Evidence became a lifelong specialty, and for many years I taught classes on the subject for judges, law students and practicing lawyers throughout the country.
Meanwhile I worked days in the Denver City Attorney’s office as a clerk. It was anything but glamorous. But it led to a job as an assistant city attorney after graduation.
I would become a county judge at age 28, one of Denver’s youngest. Later I was elected as a district judge, and then appointed by the President to the federal judiciary as a U.S. District judge. And, ultimately, I did return to Boulder—to receive the University of Colorado’s George Norlin Award, and an honorary doctorate of law. Sooner or later everyone will fall short at something important to them—whether it be a job, a dream or a relationship. Flunking out of law school, I believe, made me a better judge; it certainly taught me about the frailties of the human condition, and about the need to give people second chances.
But failure also taught me that life is a road with unpredictable forks and unexpected tomorrows. To take advantage of them, you can’t let yourself be destroyed by a defeat, or let others set the limits on your ability to achieve.
Apparently at a young age, Finesilver had thoroughly analyzed, accepted, and admitted his failure, and worked his way through Westminster Law School by attending night school and working at the City Attorney’s Office. He was also astute enough to recognize what he wanted to do with his life and then tackle what was required of him to achieve it. He did that, and then some. Further, Finesilver knew enough to exert his best efforts to what many consider the two most tedious areas of the law: evidence and civil procedure. Somehow, he knew they were incredibly important to being competent in the courtroom.
Judicial Highlights
During his judicial career, Judge Finesilver presided over several prominent cases, including a plea bargain related to Rocky Flats environmental violations; a consolidated trial of lawsuit resulting from the 1987 Continental Airlines crash at Stapleton Airport; and a $49.5 million settlement of the government’s case against directors of the Silverado Banking, Savings & Loan, including Neil Bush/
Judge Finesilver also presided over all the Colorado swine flu cases, most of which, if not all, were tried at night because of an overworked docket in this judicial district. In Colorado’s most serious swine flu case, Judge Finesilver approved a settlement whereby the government has over years paid several million dollars on an increasing annuity basis (the victim was originally paralyzed but thereafter partially recovered).
It is believed other cases that were tried in his court were decided in favor of the government. A Champion for the Disabled and Those Discriminated Against. Although conservative by nature and political persuasion, Judge Finesilver did much to help and assist the disabled and those who were being unfairly discriminated against. He was awarded honorary doctorates from Gallaudet University in Washington, DC for his championship of the rights of the deaf; from New York Law School for his pioneering role for the legislation of organ transplants; and from Metropolitan State College.8 He received the George Norlin Award and an honorary doctorate in 1988 as an outstanding alumnus of CU. Judge Finesilver and his wife Annette also published a very successful safety guide titled "Protect Yourself: Wise Words for Women." The booklet would see many printings and was distributed nationally. Further, Judge Finesilver at times did things in an effort to improve the human condition, such as teaching people, particularly the elderly, to drive more safely at night.
A good fish story.
Conclusion
It was a core belief of Judge Finesilver that people shouldn’t consider themselves overly important without justification. He sometimes said, "Do not confuse notoriety and fame with greatness, [f]or you see, greatness is a measure of one’s spirit, not a result of one’s rank in human affairs." Judge Finesilver left much to be followed in his career as a lawyer, as a judge, and as a human being. He was certainly justified in being named among Colorado’s Greatest.
____________________
Judge Finesilver was a Mason.
Great-Grandparent:
David Louis Carter (1831-1914)
Grandparents:
Hyman Balaban (1865-1922)
Sarah Balaban (1868-1941)
Parents:
Rebecca Finesilver (1895-1981)
Harry Finesilver (1894-1964)
Siblings:
Doris Weinreich (1916-1996)
Mildred Reflow (1918-1998)
Oscar Finesilver (1924-1999)
Spouse: Annette Warren (M: 6-23-1954) . Judge & Mrs. Finesilver were married for 52 years.
Children: Jay Mark Finesilver, Steven Brad Finesilver, and Susan Finesilver
Chief Judge, United States District Court. The Honorable Judge Sherman G. Finesilver was appointed to the United States District Court by President Nixon and was sworn in October 22, 1971. His appointment was sponsored by the then United States Senators from Colorado Gordon Allott and Peter Dominick. Finesilver served as the Chief Judge of the Court from April 8, 1982 until 1994. Following his retirement and, up until his death, Judge Finesilver served as a mediator in Federal cases. These cases were assigned by the United States Supreme Court. Finesilver was respected by both local and national lawyers and judges and litigants during his esteemed career. He was 79.
He graduated from Westminster College of Law (now the University Of Denver School Of Law) and worked in the city attorney's office in Denver, Colorado after passing the Colorado Bar. In 1955, at the age of 28, he was appointed a Denver municipal judge. In 1962 he was elected and subsequently re-elected to the Denver District Court. The United States District Court appointment would follow in 1971.
Judge Finesilver graduated from North High School, Denver, Colorado, and was selected as an All-City football Center.
Judge Finesilver and his wife Annette published a very successful safety guide titled PROTECT YOURSELF...WISE WORDS FOR WOMEN. The booklet would see many printings and was distributed nationally.
Judge Finesilver was awarded honorary doctorates from Gallaudet University in Washington D.D for his championship of the rights of the deaf, from New York Law School for his pioneering role for the legislation of organ transplants, and Metropolitan State College. He received the George Norlin Award and an honorary doctorate in 1988 as an outstanding alumnus from the University of Colorado.
He held the Chairmanship of the American Citizenship Committee of the Colorado bar.
In 1995 The Reader's Digest Magazine published a story written by Judge Finesilver that dealt with his flunking out of law school at the University of Colorado. Below is an excerpt from that article and is a reflection of Judge Finesilver's optimism and hope for others.
"Sooner or later, everyone will fall short at something important to them - whether it be a job, a dream or a relationship. Flunking out of law school, I believe, made me a better judge; it certainly taught me about the frailties of the human condition, and about the need to give people second chances. But failure also taught me that life is a road with unpredictable forks and unexpected tomorrows. To take advantage of them, you can't let yourself be destroyed by a defeat, or let others set the limits on your ability to achieve."
____________________
THE COLORADO LAWYER
November 2006
Vol. 35, No. 11
(p 123)
IN MEMORIAM
Sherman G. Finesilver
Sherman G. Finesilver died on October 12, 2006. He was 79. A Colorado native, Finesilver received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and his J.D. degree from the Westminster College of Law (now the University of Denver Sturm College of Law). In 1955, he was appointed a Municipal Judge. In 1971, President Richard Nixon appointed him to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, where he became Chief Judge in 1982. During his judicial career, Finesilver presided over several prominent cases, including a plea bargain related to Rocky Flats environmental violations; a consolidated trial of lawsuits resulting from the 1987 Continental Airlines crash at Stapleton Airport; and a $49.5 million settlement of the government's case against directors of the Silverado Banking, Savings & Loan, including Neil Bush. After retiring from the Bench in 1994, Finesilver worked in mediation and arbitration and spent his free time fly-fishing. He was a member of the CBA and DBA for more than fifty years.
____________________
ONE OF THE GREATEST
The Colorado Lawyer
July 2015
By John S. Kintzele
Sherman G. Finesilver (1927–2006)
About the Author
Jack Kintzele has been practicing law for fifty-three years. He is a member of the American, Colorado, Denver, and Arapahoe County Bar Associations and is a Colorado Bar and Arapahoe County Bar Foundation Fellow. He is an author and former lecturer, and served as Denver Election Commissioner for several years during the 1970s and 1980s. He is 78 and is retiring this year, and plans to travel the world with his wife—[email protected].
Keep these concepts in mind: You’ve failed many times, although you don’t remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim. R. H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on. Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times. Don’t worry about failure. My suggestion to each of you: Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.
Sherman Glenn Finesilver, U.S. Federal District Court Judge Sherman Glenn Finesilver—also known as "Shermie"
"Judge Please" was born on October 1, 1927. A Colorado native, he graduated from Denver’s North High School, where he was selected as an All-City football player. Finesilver received his BA from the University of Colorado (CU) in 1949 and his JD from the Westminster College of Law (now the University of Denver Sturm College of Law) in 1952.
He was in private practice in Denver from 1952 to 1955 and also served as an assistant Denver City Attorney during that time period. In 1955, at age 28, he was appointed as a judge to the Denver Municipal Court for the City and County of Denver. In 1962, he was elected a district court judge in the Second Judicial District for the City and County of Denver, where he served until 1971.
In September 1971, Judge Finesilver was nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, which would become vacant by the retirement of William E. Doyle. He was sworn in on October 22. From 1982 to 1994, he served as the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for District of Colorado. On May 31, 1994, he assumed senior status of the Federal District Court before he retired from judicial duties later that year.
Following his retirement, Judge Finesilver resumed private practice in Denver. In retirement, Judge Finesilver served as a mediator in numerous federal cases assigned by the U.S. Supreme Court. He died on October 12, 2006, at age 79.
An Unexpected Beginning to an Illustrious Career
Given his impressive résumé, readers may be surprised to learn that Finesilver flunked out of CU Law School after his first year. He had completed his undergraduate studies at CU, where he easy-timed his way through that part of his education, frivolously not realizing or appreciating that law school is much harder.
Years later, Judge Finesilver authored the following essay, which appeared in Reader’s Digest in 1995:
Turning Point: The Day I Flunked Out of Law School
This federal judge once looked down the barrel of failure.
My father knew that something was amiss when he encountered me, late one afternoon, sitting on the stoop of our west Denver house. The dean of the University of Colorado School of Law, I said, decided that I couldn’t return to classes next fall. My grades were too low.
After listening calmly, my father then contacted Edward C. King, the law school dean. But there was no changing the decision. Sherm is a terrific young man, Dean King said, but he’ll never make a lawyer. He urged me to look for another career. In the meantime, he advised that I stay put in the grocery store where I worked on weekends.
I wrote a note to the dean, and requested re-admission. It went unanswered. Even today, words cannot describe my upset. I’d never really failed at anything significant. In high school I’d been a popular student and a highly regarded football player. I’d coasted through the University of Colorado at Boulder without working up a major sweat and was duly admitted to its prestigious law school.
My dad’s own schooling hadn’t gone past the sixth grade, and he was a railway mail clerk for more than forty years. But he loved learning, and he knew how much I wanted to become a lawyer. He suggested I look at Westminster College of Law (now part of the University of Denver College of Law), where classes were held at night.
Dad’s advice was perfectly practical. It also hurt like hell. The University of Colorado at Boulder was a Taj Mahal—the door to judicial clerkships and prestigious law firms. Westminster was Tramway Tech—a poor man’s school with no tenured professors or law review, whose students held down day jobs.
Visualizing myself at Westminster after Boulder was galling. And in truth, my self-confidence was badly shaken; maybe I wasn’t cut out to study law. But in the end I went to see Clifford Mills, Westminster’s dean.
Mill’s read my college transcript, and I’ll never forget him peering at me over the rim of his glasses. "Finesilver," he said bluntly, "the only thing you did well in Boulder was athletics, a Spanish course and your fraternity." He was right. I’d made it through, but lack of academic commitment and good study habits had finally caught up with me.
Dean Mills let me enroll at Westminster, on one condition: that I repeat all my first-year classes, this time paying attention. "I’ll be looking over your shoulder," he said.
One door had closed. But others opened.
Given a second chance, I worked much harder, becoming fascinated by the law of evidence. In my second year, the professor who taught the course passed away. I was asked to take over—inconceivable at a law school like Boulder. Evidence became a lifelong specialty, and for many years I taught classes on the subject for judges, law students and practicing lawyers throughout the country.
Meanwhile I worked days in the Denver City Attorney’s office as a clerk. It was anything but glamorous. But it led to a job as an assistant city attorney after graduation.
I would become a county judge at age 28, one of Denver’s youngest. Later I was elected as a district judge, and then appointed by the President to the federal judiciary as a U.S. District judge. And, ultimately, I did return to Boulder—to receive the University of Colorado’s George Norlin Award, and an honorary doctorate of law. Sooner or later everyone will fall short at something important to them—whether it be a job, a dream or a relationship. Flunking out of law school, I believe, made me a better judge; it certainly taught me about the frailties of the human condition, and about the need to give people second chances.
But failure also taught me that life is a road with unpredictable forks and unexpected tomorrows. To take advantage of them, you can’t let yourself be destroyed by a defeat, or let others set the limits on your ability to achieve.
Apparently at a young age, Finesilver had thoroughly analyzed, accepted, and admitted his failure, and worked his way through Westminster Law School by attending night school and working at the City Attorney’s Office. He was also astute enough to recognize what he wanted to do with his life and then tackle what was required of him to achieve it. He did that, and then some. Further, Finesilver knew enough to exert his best efforts to what many consider the two most tedious areas of the law: evidence and civil procedure. Somehow, he knew they were incredibly important to being competent in the courtroom.
Judicial Highlights
During his judicial career, Judge Finesilver presided over several prominent cases, including a plea bargain related to Rocky Flats environmental violations; a consolidated trial of lawsuit resulting from the 1987 Continental Airlines crash at Stapleton Airport; and a $49.5 million settlement of the government’s case against directors of the Silverado Banking, Savings & Loan, including Neil Bush/
Judge Finesilver also presided over all the Colorado swine flu cases, most of which, if not all, were tried at night because of an overworked docket in this judicial district. In Colorado’s most serious swine flu case, Judge Finesilver approved a settlement whereby the government has over years paid several million dollars on an increasing annuity basis (the victim was originally paralyzed but thereafter partially recovered).
It is believed other cases that were tried in his court were decided in favor of the government. A Champion for the Disabled and Those Discriminated Against. Although conservative by nature and political persuasion, Judge Finesilver did much to help and assist the disabled and those who were being unfairly discriminated against. He was awarded honorary doctorates from Gallaudet University in Washington, DC for his championship of the rights of the deaf; from New York Law School for his pioneering role for the legislation of organ transplants; and from Metropolitan State College.8 He received the George Norlin Award and an honorary doctorate in 1988 as an outstanding alumnus of CU. Judge Finesilver and his wife Annette also published a very successful safety guide titled "Protect Yourself: Wise Words for Women." The booklet would see many printings and was distributed nationally. Further, Judge Finesilver at times did things in an effort to improve the human condition, such as teaching people, particularly the elderly, to drive more safely at night.
A good fish story.
Conclusion
It was a core belief of Judge Finesilver that people shouldn’t consider themselves overly important without justification. He sometimes said, "Do not confuse notoriety and fame with greatness, [f]or you see, greatness is a measure of one’s spirit, not a result of one’s rank in human affairs." Judge Finesilver left much to be followed in his career as a lawyer, as a judge, and as a human being. He was certainly justified in being named among Colorado’s Greatest.
____________________
Judge Finesilver was a Mason.
Great-Grandparent:
David Louis Carter (1831-1914)
Grandparents:
Hyman Balaban (1865-1922)
Sarah Balaban (1868-1941)
Parents:
Rebecca Finesilver (1895-1981)
Harry Finesilver (1894-1964)
Siblings:
Doris Weinreich (1916-1996)
Mildred Reflow (1918-1998)
Oscar Finesilver (1924-1999)
Spouse: Annette Warren (M: 6-23-1954) . Judge & Mrs. Finesilver were married for 52 years.
Children: Jay Mark Finesilver, Steven Brad Finesilver, and Susan Finesilver
He graduated from Westminster College of Law (now the University Of Denver School Of Law) and worked in the city attorney's office in Denver, Colorado after passing the Colorado Bar. In 1955, at the age of 28, he was appointed a Denver municipal judge. In 1962 he was elected and subsequently re-elected to the Denver District Court. The United States District Court appointment would follow in 1971.
Judge Finesilver graduated from North High School, Denver, Colorado, and was selected as an All-City football Center.
Judge Finesilver and his wife Annette published a very successful safety guide titled PROTECT YOURSELF...WISE WORDS FOR WOMEN. The booklet would see many printings and was distributed nationally.
Judge Finesilver was awarded honorary doctorates from Gallaudet University in Washington D.D for his championship of the rights of the deaf, from New York Law School for his pioneering role for the legislation of organ transplants, and Metropolitan State College. He received the George Norlin Award and an honorary doctorate in 1988 as an outstanding alumnus from the University of Colorado.
He held the Chairmanship of the American Citizenship Committee of the Colorado bar.
In 1995 The Reader's Digest Magazine published a story written by Judge Finesilver that dealt with his flunking out of law school at the University of Colorado. Below is an excerpt from that article and is a reflection of Judge Finesilver's optimism and hope for others.
"Sooner or later, everyone will fall short at something important to them - whether it be a job, a dream or a relationship. Flunking out of law school, I believe, made me a better judge; it certainly taught me about the frailties of the human condition, and about the need to give people second chances. But failure also taught me that life is a road with unpredictable forks and unexpected tomorrows. To take advantage of them, you can't let yourself be destroyed by a defeat, or let others set the limits on your ability to achieve."
____________________
THE COLORADO LAWYER
November 2006
Vol. 35, No. 11
(p 123)
IN MEMORIAM
Sherman G. Finesilver
Sherman G. Finesilver died on October 12, 2006. He was 79. A Colorado native, Finesilver received his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado and his J.D. degree from the Westminster College of Law (now the University of Denver Sturm College of Law). In 1955, he was appointed a Municipal Judge. In 1971, President Richard Nixon appointed him to the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, where he became Chief Judge in 1982. During his judicial career, Finesilver presided over several prominent cases, including a plea bargain related to Rocky Flats environmental violations; a consolidated trial of lawsuits resulting from the 1987 Continental Airlines crash at Stapleton Airport; and a $49.5 million settlement of the government's case against directors of the Silverado Banking, Savings & Loan, including Neil Bush. After retiring from the Bench in 1994, Finesilver worked in mediation and arbitration and spent his free time fly-fishing. He was a member of the CBA and DBA for more than fifty years.
____________________
ONE OF THE GREATEST
The Colorado Lawyer
July 2015
By John S. Kintzele
Sherman G. Finesilver (1927–2006)
About the Author
Jack Kintzele has been practicing law for fifty-three years. He is a member of the American, Colorado, Denver, and Arapahoe County Bar Associations and is a Colorado Bar and Arapahoe County Bar Foundation Fellow. He is an author and former lecturer, and served as Denver Election Commissioner for several years during the 1970s and 1980s. He is 78 and is retiring this year, and plans to travel the world with his wife—[email protected].
Keep these concepts in mind: You’ve failed many times, although you don’t remember. You fell down the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim. R. H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on. Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times. Don’t worry about failure. My suggestion to each of you: Worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.
Sherman Glenn Finesilver, U.S. Federal District Court Judge Sherman Glenn Finesilver—also known as "Shermie"
"Judge Please" was born on October 1, 1927. A Colorado native, he graduated from Denver’s North High School, where he was selected as an All-City football player. Finesilver received his BA from the University of Colorado (CU) in 1949 and his JD from the Westminster College of Law (now the University of Denver Sturm College of Law) in 1952.
He was in private practice in Denver from 1952 to 1955 and also served as an assistant Denver City Attorney during that time period. In 1955, at age 28, he was appointed as a judge to the Denver Municipal Court for the City and County of Denver. In 1962, he was elected a district court judge in the Second Judicial District for the City and County of Denver, where he served until 1971.
In September 1971, Judge Finesilver was nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, which would become vacant by the retirement of William E. Doyle. He was sworn in on October 22. From 1982 to 1994, he served as the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for District of Colorado. On May 31, 1994, he assumed senior status of the Federal District Court before he retired from judicial duties later that year.
Following his retirement, Judge Finesilver resumed private practice in Denver. In retirement, Judge Finesilver served as a mediator in numerous federal cases assigned by the U.S. Supreme Court. He died on October 12, 2006, at age 79.
An Unexpected Beginning to an Illustrious Career
Given his impressive résumé, readers may be surprised to learn that Finesilver flunked out of CU Law School after his first year. He had completed his undergraduate studies at CU, where he easy-timed his way through that part of his education, frivolously not realizing or appreciating that law school is much harder.
Years later, Judge Finesilver authored the following essay, which appeared in Reader’s Digest in 1995:
Turning Point: The Day I Flunked Out of Law School
This federal judge once looked down the barrel of failure.
My father knew that something was amiss when he encountered me, late one afternoon, sitting on the stoop of our west Denver house. The dean of the University of Colorado School of Law, I said, decided that I couldn’t return to classes next fall. My grades were too low.
After listening calmly, my father then contacted Edward C. King, the law school dean. But there was no changing the decision. Sherm is a terrific young man, Dean King said, but he’ll never make a lawyer. He urged me to look for another career. In the meantime, he advised that I stay put in the grocery store where I worked on weekends.
I wrote a note to the dean, and requested re-admission. It went unanswered. Even today, words cannot describe my upset. I’d never really failed at anything significant. In high school I’d been a popular student and a highly regarded football player. I’d coasted through the University of Colorado at Boulder without working up a major sweat and was duly admitted to its prestigious law school.
My dad’s own schooling hadn’t gone past the sixth grade, and he was a railway mail clerk for more than forty years. But he loved learning, and he knew how much I wanted to become a lawyer. He suggested I look at Westminster College of Law (now part of the University of Denver College of Law), where classes were held at night.
Dad’s advice was perfectly practical. It also hurt like hell. The University of Colorado at Boulder was a Taj Mahal—the door to judicial clerkships and prestigious law firms. Westminster was Tramway Tech—a poor man’s school with no tenured professors or law review, whose students held down day jobs.
Visualizing myself at Westminster after Boulder was galling. And in truth, my self-confidence was badly shaken; maybe I wasn’t cut out to study law. But in the end I went to see Clifford Mills, Westminster’s dean.
Mill’s read my college transcript, and I’ll never forget him peering at me over the rim of his glasses. "Finesilver," he said bluntly, "the only thing you did well in Boulder was athletics, a Spanish course and your fraternity." He was right. I’d made it through, but lack of academic commitment and good study habits had finally caught up with me.
Dean Mills let me enroll at Westminster, on one condition: that I repeat all my first-year classes, this time paying attention. "I’ll be looking over your shoulder," he said.
One door had closed. But others opened.
Given a second chance, I worked much harder, becoming fascinated by the law of evidence. In my second year, the professor who taught the course passed away. I was asked to take over—inconceivable at a law school like Boulder. Evidence became a lifelong specialty, and for many years I taught classes on the subject for judges, law students and practicing lawyers throughout the country.
Meanwhile I worked days in the Denver City Attorney’s office as a clerk. It was anything but glamorous. But it led to a job as an assistant city attorney after graduation.
I would become a county judge at age 28, one of Denver’s youngest. Later I was elected as a district judge, and then appointed by the President to the federal judiciary as a U.S. District judge. And, ultimately, I did return to Boulder—to receive the University of Colorado’s George Norlin Award, and an honorary doctorate of law. Sooner or later everyone will fall short at something important to them—whether it be a job, a dream or a relationship. Flunking out of law school, I believe, made me a better judge; it certainly taught me about the frailties of the human condition, and about the need to give people second chances.
But failure also taught me that life is a road with unpredictable forks and unexpected tomorrows. To take advantage of them, you can’t let yourself be destroyed by a defeat, or let others set the limits on your ability to achieve.
Apparently at a young age, Finesilver had thoroughly analyzed, accepted, and admitted his failure, and worked his way through Westminster Law School by attending night school and working at the City Attorney’s Office. He was also astute enough to recognize what he wanted to do with his life and then tackle what was required of him to achieve it. He did that, and then some. Further, Finesilver knew enough to exert his best efforts to what many consider the two most tedious areas of the law: evidence and civil procedure. Somehow, he knew they were incredibly important to being competent in the courtroom.
Judicial Highlights
During his judicial career, Judge Finesilver presided over several prominent cases, including a plea bargain related to Rocky Flats environmental violations; a consolidated trial of lawsuit resulting from the 1987 Continental Airlines crash at Stapleton Airport; and a $49.5 million settlement of the government’s case against directors of the Silverado Banking, Savings & Loan, including Neil Bush/
Judge Finesilver also presided over all the Colorado swine flu cases, most of which, if not all, were tried at night because of an overworked docket in this judicial district. In Colorado’s most serious swine flu case, Judge Finesilver approved a settlement whereby the government has over years paid several million dollars on an increasing annuity basis (the victim was originally paralyzed but thereafter partially recovered).
It is believed other cases that were tried in his court were decided in favor of the government. A Champion for the Disabled and Those Discriminated Against. Although conservative by nature and political persuasion, Judge Finesilver did much to help and assist the disabled and those who were being unfairly discriminated against. He was awarded honorary doctorates from Gallaudet University in Washington, DC for his championship of the rights of the deaf; from New York Law School for his pioneering role for the legislation of organ transplants; and from Metropolitan State College.8 He received the George Norlin Award and an honorary doctorate in 1988 as an outstanding alumnus of CU. Judge Finesilver and his wife Annette also published a very successful safety guide titled "Protect Yourself: Wise Words for Women." The booklet would see many printings and was distributed nationally. Further, Judge Finesilver at times did things in an effort to improve the human condition, such as teaching people, particularly the elderly, to drive more safely at night.
A good fish story.
Conclusion
It was a core belief of Judge Finesilver that people shouldn’t consider themselves overly important without justification. He sometimes said, "Do not confuse notoriety and fame with greatness, [f]or you see, greatness is a measure of one’s spirit, not a result of one’s rank in human affairs." Judge Finesilver left much to be followed in his career as a lawyer, as a judge, and as a human being. He was certainly justified in being named among Colorado’s Greatest.
____________________
Judge Finesilver was a Mason.
Great-Grandparent:
David Louis Carter (1831-1914)
Grandparents:
Hyman Balaban (1865-1922)
Sarah Balaban (1868-1941)
Parents:
Rebecca Finesilver (1895-1981)
Harry Finesilver (1894-1964)
Siblings:
Doris Weinreich (1916-1996)
Mildred Reflow (1918-1998)
Oscar Finesilver (1924-1999)
Spouse: Annette Warren (M: 6-23-1954) . Judge & Mrs. Finesilver were married for 52 years.
Children: Jay Mark Finesilver, Steven Brad Finesilver, and Susan Finesilver
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
