Writings of Professor Tom I. Romero II Featured in New Book About Colorado Legal History, "Steam, Steel & Statutes"

A new book about Colorado legal history features contributions by Tom I. Romero II, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

Steam, Steel & Statutes: True Tales from Colorado Legal History is a compilation of historical perspective articles published from 2002-1010 in The Colorado Lawyer, the journal of the Colorado Bar Association.

Professor Romero established the "Historical Perspectives" column in 2002 when he wrote “Raging Waters at Cub Creek: A Homesteader Confronts Prior Appropriation.” At the time the piece was published Professor Romero was Legal Studies Fellow at the Center of the American West at Colorado University. Professor Romero authored the column from 2002 through 2003.

Leona Martínez, Managing Editor of The Colorado Lawyer, commenting about the book said:

“The articles have generated enormous reader interest and support” adding, “With this compilation of Historical Perspectives articles, the Colorado Bar Association Continuing Legal Education has opened the doors to Colorado’s colorful legal history. The staff of The Colorado Lawyer is grateful to Tom Romero for laying the groundwork to a fine tradition…”

Authored by Frank Gibbard, who also wrote many of the book’s articles as well as organized the publication, Steam, Steel & Statutes includes the work of Colorado lawyers Bill C. Berger, Jeffrey P. Kelson, Robert M. Linz, and Claire E. Munger as well as Professor Romero.

Among the contributions written by Professor Romero are these environmental and natural resources offerings:

• “Forming the Environmental Citizen: Colorado’s Early Legal Efforts at Protecting Outdoor Recreation”
• “Rocky Mountain Riches: Law and the Extraction of Colorado’s Mineral Wealth”
• “The Original ‘Sod Squad’: Dry Lawns, Dirty Cars, and the Legality of Water Restrictions in the 1950s”
• “Vision Quest: Coal and Culture in Colorado’s Native Lands”

Non-environmental and natural resources contributions include:

• Bah Humbug! Colorado Law and the Winter Holidays
• Law, Order, and Municipal Authority in Colorado’s Early Mining Towns
• Race, Murder and Criminal Prosecution in Wartime Denver

The book is published by the Colorado Bar Association Continuing Legal Education. More information about the book is available by clicking here.

Professor Romero’s environmental and natural resources courses are clearly enriched by his study of Colorado history.