Edward E. Pringle (1913-2002)
| Publication year | 2014 |
| Pages | 43 |
| Citation | Vol. 43 No. 7 Pg. 43 |
Four of the Greatest
Edward E. Pringle (1913-2002)
By Bruce D. Pringle
About the Author
Bruce D. Pringle, the son of Chief Justice Edward Pringle, practiced law in Colorado and served as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Colorado. He also acted as a mediator, arbitrator, and court-appointed special master. He is the author of Colorado Law Annotated, a nine-volume treatise on Colorado law. He is retired and living in California-bdpringle@msn.com.
Friends and colleagues remember Edward Pringle as an unpretentious man whose legacy is the states judicial system, overhauled during his term as Colorado Supreme Court chief justice. -Carl Hilliard Rocky Mountain News[1]
He was the best chief justice we've ever had. . . . He brought the Colorado court system into the 21st century while it was still the 20th century, and it became recognized nationwide. — Harry O. Lawson Colorado state court administrator[2]
Justice Pringle has made a towering contribution to the Colorado Judiciary. He has left his shadow over all our Colorado institutions. He is a rare combination of academic and practical, tough but compassionate. His place will be impossible to fill. — Hon. Richard D. Lamm Governor of the State of Colorado[3]
When Eddie[4] Pringle was appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court on October 30, 1961 by Governor Steve McNichols, the Colorado judicial system was much the same as it had been since the turn of the century. The system was probably reasonably well suited to what Colorado was when it became the thirty-eighth state on August 1, 1876—sparsely populated, largely rural, with an economy based primarily on farming and ranching. By the middle of the 20th century, however, the judicial system was stressed beyond its capacity to efficiently dispense justice. During the seventeen years that Eddie Pringle served on the Colorado Supreme Court, he spearheaded a total overhaul of the system, reaching almost every aspect of judicial administration.
Childhood and Schooling
Edward E. Pringle was born in Chicago on April 12, 1914. His father, Abe, was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States as a young boy shortly after the turn of the century. After working for a time as a butcher on a train bound for Alaska, he took up residence in Chicago and married Lena Oher, an immigrant to the United States from Poland. When Eddie was 4 years old, the family moved to Denver. He grew up on 12th and Larimer in an area that was a melting pot of first-generation Americans. His father owned a small grocery and was active in neighborhood politics.
Eddie attended Cheltenham Elementary School, Lake Junior High School, and North High School. By age 16, Eddie had graduated from high school and enrolled at the University of Colorado (CU) in Boulder. He joined the Phi Sigma Delta fraternity and worked as a hasher and as a house manager to help pay for his education. It was at CU that Eddie developed an infatuation with journalism. He was the sports editor of the Silver and Gold (CU's student newspaper from 1892 to 1970) and was also a stringer for the Associated Press and United Press. This interest in journalism played a crucial role in shaping Eddie's view of the relationship between the government and the Fourth Estate.
Law Practice, Marriage, and the Military
Eddie graduated from the CU School of Law in 1936 at the age of 22. He was torn between the legal profession and a career as a journalist. In fact, he nearly took a job as a sports reporter for The Denver Post before accepting an offer from Denver attorney Phil Rossman for office space in exchange for working on Rossman's cases. After a brief stint with Rossman, Eddie struck out on his own. Business was sparse, and Eddie spent many hours playing Battleship with his friend and colleague, attorney Max Frankel.[5]
In 1941, Eddie married Pauline Judd.[6] Shortly thereafter, Eddie enlisted in the Army Air Corps and was sent to Sheppard Field in Wichita Falls, Texas for training. He developed a severe case of kidney stones, which ultimately resulted in an honorable discharge in 1942.
After his military service, Eddie worked for the Office of Price Control, and then returned to the private practice of law. He partnered with Max D. Melville, who was already a legend in the Colorado legal community.[7] The office produced a host of great lawyers, including Fred Winner, who later became the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado; Duke Dunbar, who later served as the Colorado Attorney General; and Bob Kingsley, who served as a judge on the Denver District Court.
Judicial Career
In 1957, Governor Steve McNichols appointed Eddie to fill a vacancy on the Denver District Court. Colorado still adhered to the old system of selecting state judges in partisan political elections. Eddie defeated his opponents in both the 1958 and 1960 general elections.
Eddie's penchant for judicial reform surfaced while he was on the Denver District Court. While assigned to the domestic relations division, he was instrumental in establishing Colorado's first court marriage counseling service. During his assignment to the civil division, he became chair of the Rules Committee and led the effort to establish the first set of regulations in a generation to expedite cases and produce fairer trials. Eddie was selected as a panel leader for the Committee for the Effective Administration of Justice, chaired by Justice Tom Clark of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Committee trained state trial judges nationwide. His close relationship with Justice Clark continued...
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