Frank H. Hall

• Publication year: 1996
• Pages: 7

25 Colo.Law. 7 Colorado Lawyer 1996.

1996, July, Pg. 7. FRANK H. HALL

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Vol. 25, No. 7, Pg. 7

FRANK H. HALL

by Carmel A. Garlutzo

Carmel A. Garlutzo, Trinidad, who retired in 1991 practiced law for forty years. He practiced with Frank Hall from 1953 to 1956 in Trinidad.

[Please see hardcopy for image]

Frank H. Hall was born August 14, 1890, at Braceville, Illinois. Five years later, the Hall family moved to Colorado. Frank earned his bachelor's degree from The Colorado College in Colorado Springs. A member of the track team, he held the school record for a number of years as a distance runner. He had red hair when he was young and that might have been why he was nicknamed "Torchy."

After leaving The Colorado College, Hall went on to receive his law degree from Harvard, and then served in the Armed Services during World War I as a lieutenant. In 1920, he returned to Colorado and began his practice of law in Trinidad. He had three children, one of whom became a lawyer in California.

For the next thirty-six years, Frank Hall practiced law, becoming one of the most able attorneys in Trinidad and Colorado. He was a general practitioner who handled all phases of practice, including criminal and personal injury. He had a brilliant legal mind and was a real advocate, always focusing on the best interests of his client. As a practicing attorney, Justice Hall was always a vigorous, energetic advocate who over a period of years was identified with many major criminal and civil cases heard in local courts.

In one case, he represented a man charged with arson in a fire that occurred July 1932. Criminal charges were filed the next day. Before the criminal case was tried, in September 1932, the defendant sued the insurance company and a civil trial was set. After several appeals and a remand of the civil case for retrial, the jury found in the defendant's favor.(fn1) In May 1933, he was found guilty of the criminal charge.(fn2) After losing his appeal, the defendant served time in Cañon City, and then collected on the proceeds of his civil case (believe it or not!).

Hall was a life-long Republican, having served as chairman of the Las Animas County Central Committee. He also served as City Attorney for Trinidad and County Attorney for Las Animas County. During World War II, he was a field agent for the Las Animas County Draft Board. He also served on the Law Committee of the Colorado Board of...