Judge Carlos Lucero of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Speaks to Sturm College of Law Environmental and Natural Resources Law Students

Recently Judge Carlos Lucero, a member of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, spoke to a gathering of University of Denver Sturm College of Law students from the Environmental and Natural Resources Law program.

Judge Lucero spoke about his involvement with the ABA Rule of Law Initiative's Latin American and Caribbean Division, which supports legal reform efforts and judicial capacity building. He told the gathering of a meeting he had with members of the Chilean Supreme Court at which the group discussed the country's constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment alongside the concept of "absolute rights." Judge Lucero was quite impressed with the Chilean judges' consideration of how these rights are balanced and ultimately implemented.

Judge Lucero, who was appointed to the federal bench in 1995 by President Bill Clinton, also discussed his own experience with U.S. environmental law during the period when he practiced law in Alamosa, Colorado. During his years in private practice, Judge Lucero was involved with water law and public lands issues in particular.

Judge Lucero has a bachelor's degree from Adams State College and a law degree from George Washington University Law School. He served as a law clerk for former Colorado U.S. District Court Judge William E. Doyle from 1964-1965.

(Editor's note: In the top picture, Judge Lucero, far right, and Sturm College of Law Academic Dean Fred Cheever, far left, speak with 1L student John Hedges; in the middle picture, Judge Lucero speaks with Don Smith, Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law (ENRL) program; the bottom picture is of Judge Lucero and Lucy Daberkow, Assistant Director for the ENRL.)