Anthony Francis Vollack (August 7, 1929 – September 28, 2015) was a justice of the

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the court was established in 1876. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices who are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a ...

from 1986 to 2000, serving as chief justice from 1995 to 1998.

Biography

Vollack was born in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

, and his family moved to

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The population was 169,810 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an i ...

when he was in high school. He studied at the Colorado Agricultural & Mining College (now

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

), receiving a B.S. degree in 1951. Following service as an officer in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, he attended the University of Denver

Sturm College of Law The Sturm College of Law ("Denver Law") is the professional graduate law school of the University of Denver. It is one of two law schools in the state of Colorado. Founded in 1892, the Sturm College of Law was one of the first in America's Mount ...

, graduating with a

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1956. Following law school, from 1956 to 1977, Vollack was in solo practice in Denver. In 1964, he successfully ran as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

for State Senator from the 13th District, composed of Jefferson County. In 1968 he was re-elected for a second term representing the 16th District, including both Jefferson and Adams Counties. He was noted for his interest in issues of child welfare and good government. In 1972, Vollack decided to challenge three-term Republican incumbent Gordon L. Allott for a seat in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. He was defeated by Floyd K. Haskell in the Democratic primary. Haskell would go on to win the Senate race. In 1977, Vollack's name was put forward for the District Court bench by the Colorado Merit Selection system, and he was appointed by Governor

Richard Lamm Richard Douglas Lamm (August 3, 1935 – July 29, 2021) was an American politician, writer, and attorney. He served three terms as the 38th Governor of Colorado as a Democrat (1975–1987) and ran for the Reform Party's nomination for Pre ...

. In 1986, Vollack was elevated to serve as justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. He sat as chief justice from 1995 to 1998, during which he helped form the Colorado Judicial Coordinating Council, composed of state and federal judges, and used the power of the "Chief Justice Directive" to modernize court operations. In 2000, he retired from the bench. He then served as an alternative dispute resolution mediator with the Judicial Arbiter Group. He received numerous awards for his community service, including in 1999 the Champion for Children Award by the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center.

Personal life

On August 2, 1958, he married Imojean Shelton, a school teacher in Denver who had grown up in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. Accessed via Ancestry.com. They were introduced by Senator

Estes Kefauver Carey Estes Kefauver ( ; July 26, 1903 – August 10, 1963) was an American politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1949 and in the U.S. Senate from 1949 until h ...

, whose secretary, Jowanda Shelton, was her sister. The couple had two children: Kirk Vollack, a musician and teacher, and Lia A. Vollack (Lurie).

References

External links

Opinions authored by Vollack
Courtlistener.com. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Vollack, Anthony 1929 births 2015 deaths People from Cheyenne, Wyoming Colorado State University alumni Sturm College of Law alumni United States Air Force officers Politicians from Denver Democratic Party Colorado state senators Colorado state court judges Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges Child welfare in the United States Chief justices of the Colorado Supreme Court Military personnel from Colorado 20th-century members of the Colorado General Assembly

Biography

Personal life

See also

References

External links