Leonard Frieling
I am the immediate past Chair of the Boulder Criminal Defense Bar (having served in that position for eight years) a chapter of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, (Life Member) and have served for two terms on the Board of Directors, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar. I served on the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Technology Committee. I am a twice past chair of the Juvenile Law Committee, Boulder Bar Assoc. I took a leave of absence from my regular column in THE RAP SHEET (The Colorado Criminal Defense Bar magazine), so that I could co-edit the criminal law articles for the Coloradbo Bar Association monthly magazine, The Colorado Lawyer. (I "retired" from that position in late 2006 to permit more time to write articles). I was elected to the Executive Council of the Coloardo Bar Association Criminal Law Committee, and served for four years, including one as vice chair, and two as Chair of that council. I have been published in the Colorado Lawyer several times. (Sorry for all of the "I"s. It does make it easier to tell you who I am professionally). I served five years on the Board of Directors of the Boulder County Bar Association, and served on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Municipal Judges Assoc. I teach numerous continuing legal education courses to other lawyers throughout the state and nationally, as well as having been an occasional guest lecturer at New Mexico Highlands University, and at the the Boulder County Department of Social Services, sexual abuse team. I am a guest lecturer at the Denver University School of Law. I have acted as a Special County Attorney for Boulder County numerous times when the regular staff of attorneys was unavailable for periodic "retreats." I am a mentor to newer attorneys throughout the State Of Colorado, (spending about 6 hours a week advising other criminal defense attorneys) and retired as a director after many years service on the Board of Directors for the Colorado Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies. I have been accepted as a lifetime member of the National Register of Who's Who, and Who's Who in American Law has had me listed. I was privileged to be named Volunteer of the Year by Boulder Action for Soviet Jewry (1995). I also served on the V.A.L.E. board (Victim and Law Enforcement) for its first three years, including a year as president. I served as a presiding judge for the 16th Annual Colorado Mock Trial Competition. I am an overachiever, and Fox TV has had me as an attorney on one of their court TV show, Power of Attorney. I had four episodes aired during 2001. The show was cancelled as a result of the 9/11 attacks. I have been an advisor to ABC TV and Radio News
Education: Juris Doctor, Rutgers University Law School, 1975. Bachelor of General Studies, (majors in physics, math, psychology, English, and accounting), cum laude, from Ohio University, 1972.
Personal: I have been married for over 21 years, and have a very wide range of interests. I perceive myself as a "Renaissance man" with skills in the fine arts, music, sciences, literature, and also with "hands on" types of work. In my home shop, I work with wood, metal, and plastic, with projects ranging from handling knives, to turning accessories for spinning wheels, to building table top battle robots (1st place in 1993, 3rd place in 1994 Critter Crunch, "Nifty Critter" ribbon, 1996). A watercolor of mine took a third place ribbon in the 1995 Lafayette Art Show. Lately, I have re-focused on photography, enjoying the new digital medium. I was one of the creators of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar website, at http://www.ccdb.org and was webmaster at http://www.crimelynx.com (until the student surpassed the teacher and took over). I have played guitar for 42 years, and I think I'm finally getting the hang of it.
recent blog posts by Leonard Frieling:
Lafayette Judge Resigns Protesting Increased Penalties
Posted in Reader Blogs by Leonard Frieling on Thu, 02/15/2007 - 3:54pmI am the Lafayette ex-associate judge who resigned on Monday to protest the attempts by the City Council, inspired by the "main" judge, to increase the penalty for petty offense possession (under 1 oz) of cannabis, from $100 to $1,000 and a year in jail, maximum. Although this was never my "day job," and in spite of not having taken the bench as a backup judge in quite some time, I was still #2 in line if needed.
The mayor of Lafayette told the press that since this was not a set penalty, but just a max penalty, that we were free to stick with the $100 fine. I personally believe that it is wrong to sit as a judge with a hidden agenda. It seems wrong to me to be willing to take the bench, and to impose sentences, even at the municipal level, while being absolutely unwilling to enforce the law as the City Council intends.
This issue has taken on a life of its own, and when the City Council addresses it again on 2/20/2007, they will have the spotlight of the media, SAFER, SANE, NORML, MPP, and the ACLU, as well as the citizens of this fair city watching. That is as it should be.
Lenny Frieling
(See Judge Frieling's press release from yesterday afternoon here.)
Press Release from Judge Leonard I. Frieling on His Resignation in Protest of Harsh Marijuana Ordinance
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Leonard Frieling on Thu, 02/15/2007 - 3:46pmFollowing my resignation as a Lafayette Municipal Court Associate Judge in protest of an unnecessary and drastic proposal to increase marijuana possession penalties in the City of Lafayette, some misinformed officials with the city launched an attack on my character, spurring news stories that suggested I was no longer an associate judge with the city at the time of my resignation.
According to a member of the local press who requested my employment history from Lafayette Human Resource Director Pam Spring, my employment status was "active" as of Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007. Ms. Spring also informed this individual that , while a new judge had been hired last April, I had not been replaced and retained my position with the City. It is true that I had not been called to sit on the bench for a while.
As a result, the message I intended to send with my resignation is still as pertinent now as it was when this story first broke. The City hired me because they trusted my judgment, and I can no longer serve as a judge for a city willing to go to such great measures to ensure they have the ability to punish non-violent adult marijuana users more harshly than the state mandates. I do not pretend that it was a huge personal sacrifice. I am not the issue. The issue is the issue.
Thus, I will be standing in opposition to this measure at a press conference Tuesday, the day on which this measure's fate will be determined. More details about this event will follow from Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER). I suspect that I will NOT attend the city council meeting on Tuesday evening. The city council SHOULD be informed of the position of the public on this issue. I suspect that they already are aware of my position, and won't benefit from hearing it again. I would be a distraction, and this story is not about me.
Lenny Frieling
(See Judge Frieling's blog piece written for DRCNet's Speakeasy here.)