City attorney known for integrity

Computer inquiry baffles friends and colleagues

Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 27, 2007 at midnight

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The stolen-computer investigation surrounding Denver City Attorney Larry Manzanares has baffled friends and colleagues who know him as a hard-working, well-respected judge who made community service a priority.

"I've always thought he was a star, and I still do," said Denver County Judge Alfred Harrell, a close friend.

"His word is gold to me," Harrell said. "He is a person of impeccable character. I would trust him with anything . . . There is absolutely no question about his integrity."

Harrell and other colleagues declined to discuss the stolen computer investigation.

"There's got to be an explanation," Harrell said. "I can't believe anything but the best about Larry."

Denver County Judge Doris Burd also described Manzanares as a man of integrity.

"I can only tell you that over the years I have known him, I have had the highest regard for Larry," Burd said. "He is extremely intelligent. I have known him to be a very ethical and highly moral man in my dealings with him on every level."

During 14 years on the county and district court bench, Manzanares, 50, earned a reputation as a well-respected and hard-working judge, said Andrew Armatas, presiding judge of the county court.

He earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1982 and worked in private practice, specializing in civil litigation.

Manzanares teaches law at the University of Denver, is a faculty member of the National Institute of Trial Advocacy and serves on the Boards of Directors of four nonprofit organizations, including Project Pave and Mi Casa Women's Resource Center. His salary as city attorney is $125,473 annually.

"The guy's phenomenal in terms of his work ethic and his contribution to the community," Harrell said. "He's smart as a whip. He just loves his profession. I've never seen him say no when there is a chance to help other people. I don't know how he finds the time to do all that he does."

One thing he found time for was to travel with Harrell to Mexico, where they lived with a family in Cuernavaca for several weeks, studying Spanish, Harrell said.

They kept in touch with the family over the years after the trip and returned to be with the matriarch of their host family when she was dying of breast cancer, Harrell said.

Manzanares is married with two college-age children.

A man of varied interests, Manzanares is a pilot, learned how to play guitar and took a class in stone sculpture several years ago, Harrell said.

His passion for bicycling led him to take disadvantaged kids on the Ride the Rockies bicycle tour after taking them under his wing under a program sponsored by the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association.

Denver lawyer Todd Fredrickson said he met Manzanares through the program.

"He was very well regarded as a fair and impartial jurist. He's a great judge, smart conscientious. For a lot of people like me, he has been a tremendous mentor."

Last year, Manzanares presided over a challenge to using computerized voting machines in the general election, ruling that the secretary of state did an "abysmal" job of security testing on the new machines. But it was too late to bar their use.

Larry Manzanares

• 1979 Graduated from the University of Denver

• 1982 Graduated from Harvard Law School and entered private practice

• 1982-1992 Practiced corporate law and commercial litigation

• 1992 Appointed Denver County Court judge.

• 1998 Appointed to the Denver District Court bench

• June 2006 Recipient of the Judicial Excellence Award given by the Denver Bar Association

• January 2007 became Denver city attorneySource: City Of Denver

lindsays@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5181

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