Pitkin County Courthouse
Encyclopedia
The Pitkin County Courthouse is located on East Main Street (Colorado State Highway 82
) in Aspen
, Colorado, United States. It is a large brick building erected in the late 19th century that serves as offices not just of Pitkin County
's courts but its other governmental agencies, and the Aspen police. A landmark of the city, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1975.
Like many courthouses, it has a statue of Lady Justice
in the front. Unlike many of the other such statues, she is depicted without a blindfold. In the late 20th and 21st centuries, as Aspen became a popular destination for wealthy and famous people, the courthouse has seen several high-profile defendants and litigants, from Ted Bundy
to Charlie Sheen
.
of East Main between Galena and Hunter streets, closer to the former on the west. Across the street is an open area around St. Mary's Catholic Church. A mix of commercial and residential properties and the Pitkin County
Library are to the northwest and a small housing development lies to the east. is to the southeast on South Hunter. Two blocks west is another Aspen landmark, the Hotel Jerome
. Aspen City Hall
is a block away at South Galena and East Hopkins. The terrain slopes slightly toward the Roaring Fork River
to the north.
The building itself is a two-story brick structure on a stone foundation
, raised to expose the basement. It is set back
from the street, fronted by a low iron fence, red cobblestone
sidewalk, and small trees and shrubbery. Two large evergreens flank the courthouse. A large modern extension containing the jail is located to the rear.
On the 13-bay
south (front) facade
, the five-bay projecting entrance pavilion, itself with the center three bays projecting, is complemented by two lesser projections on the third and fourth bays from the center. Bricks are laid in stretcher bond. Stone belt courses
provide sills and lintels the narrow one-over-one double-hung sash window
s on the first story. Segmental arches of vertical brick, with keystone
s, spring from the lintels on the flanking projections.
The second-story windows are similarly treated but less restrained. All have segmental arches; the central window of the center pavilion, and the windows on the flanking ones, are combined under one larger arch with their transoms
divided by the brick. Above them is a wide plain wooden frieze
topped by a dentilled cornice
at the roofline.
A pediment
with doubled semicircular window and the same cornice treatment tops the middle three bays. Atop the other projecting sections are small solid wooden parapet
s with recessed panels alternating with fluting
. The shallow hipped roof
is pierced by two chimneys in the middle and a tall tower behind the front pavilion.
The lowest of the tower's four stages is a plain wooden section, topped with a cornice. The next two are united by a small pair of windows similar to those in the building, above a recessed panel and topped with a fanlight
and pediment. On the second stage they are flanked by two wooden fluted pilaster
s; on the third by paneling and a spiral carving. The topmost stage is a peaked shingled roof with imitation miniature shed dormer windows.
At the entrance, stone steps rise up to a small, steeply gable
d entrance projection faced in rough stone blocks. On the top is a silvery zinc
statue of Lady Justice
, without the blindfold common to many other depictions of her. Large wooden paneled double doors topped by an arched fanlight provide entrance.
to a city of over 10,000 people as a result of the Colorado Silver Boom
. Pitkin County
, named for then-Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin
, was established in 1881. By the end of the decade, it needed its own courthouse.
Great controversy surrounded the construction. There were accusations of corruption and favoritism. The county commissioners ignored calls to stop the project and went ahead with a design by Denver architect William Quayle. It was completed and opened early in 1891. The six-foot (2 m) statue of Lady Justice
, one of the few in the United States showing her without the usual blindfold, was made of pressed stamped zinc
in Salem, Ohio
, for a cost of $250 ($ in contemporary dollars).
The statue's painted silvery exterior reflects the silver mining that was the root of Aspen's prosperity at that time. Why the blindfold was omitted is not known for certain. It has been humorously suggested that the commissioners, given the corruption allegations, decided Justice should be able to keep an eye on what was going on around her. Another account has it that the miners, who had previously set up their own informal courts to resolve disputes over claims
, were reluctant to cede that authority, even to a legitimate governmental body. They therefore paid for the statue themselves and insisted that she be shown without the blindfold but with scales (weight being an impartial measure of mining success), to emphasize that in Aspen justice could be impartial without artificial restraints.
, the courthouse remained functioning as the seat of government. It continued to be used and maintained as the city slipped into its "quiet years", of the early 20th century and its population dropped to less than a thousand. As skiing revived the city following World War II
, it would play a role in the cultural changes Aspen underwent in the latter half of the century.
In 1961 Hunter S. Thompson
, considered the founder of gonzo journalism
but then unknown, came to Aspen with $2 and decided to stay, eventually settling in nearby Woody Creek
. He later became famous writing articles such as "The Battle of Aspen
" for Rolling Stone about the hippies and other countercultures of the era
drawn to Aspen by its natural setting and their indulgence in sex and recreational drug use. In 1970 he ran unsuccessfully for county sheriff, catalyzing a growing conflict between the newer and older, more conservative residents. As part of his platform he promised to "install, on the courthouse lawn, a bastinado platform and set of stocks
—in order to punish dishonest dope dealers in a proper public fashion."
Two events at the courthouse in 1977 gained national attention. The previous year singer Claudine Longet
had been arrested and charged with murder after fatally shooting her boyfriend, skier Spider Sabich
. She claimed it had been an accident. Her trial at the courthouse in early 1977 garnered international media attention, particularly because of the presence at the trial of celebrities who had begun making Aspen a second home. One, Jack Nicholson
, a friend of Longet's, sat prominently behind the defense table in the courtroom every day of the trial. She was ultimately found guilty of a misdemeanor
charge of negligent homicide
, and spent three weeks in jail. Many longtime residents, in addition to believing Longet had been punished too lightly, came to consider the attention drawn to Aspen by the trial, and Nicholson's presence in particular, as the beginning of Aspen's conversion from a plain, unpretentious ski town to glamorous Hollywood satellite community.
Another 1976 homicide in the area put the courthouse in the national spotlight again later in 1977. On June 7, serial killer
Ted Bundy
, already serving a state prison sentence for another murder, was taken to Aspen to be tried for the murder of Caryn Campbell outside Snowmass
the previous year. A onetime law student, he had chosen to represent himself
, and thus was not shackled or handcuffed. During a recess in the proceedings, he went to the courthouse's law library
on the second floor, ostensibly to review a map of the area prosecutors had introduced as evidence against him. As soon as he was alone he jumped out the window, 25 feet (7.6 m) above the ground, and fled into the mountains and wilderness around the city. His attempt to reach Crested Butte
to the south failed, and he was recaptured in Aspen a week later.
Thirteen years later, another trial drew national attention. This time Thompson, who had once attempted to make the courthouse his workplace in his bid for sheriff, came to it as a defendant. Prosecutors had searched his Woody Creek home after porn-film director Gail Palmer
told them he had grabbed her by the breasts after she refused to join him in a hot-tub party; they found drugs and some explosive devices. Thompson was charged with five felonies. During the months leading to the trial, Thompson's fans and supporters demonstrated outside the courthouse; late in 1990 the charges were dismissed over concerns the evidence against the journalist had been obtained through an unconstitutional search.
By 2010 the courthouse had been remodeled and upgraded. It still lacked the capacity to accommodate large crowds. In 2009 actor Charlie Sheen
was charged with several felonies after allegedly holding a knife to the throat of wife Brooke Mueller
on Christmas Day in their rented Aspen home. In advance of his appearances at the courthouse in summer of that year, where he eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, the city and county imposed limitations on access to the courthouse and media presence in the courtroom. Judge James Boyd issued a Decorum Order limiting attendance at the hearings to the courtroom's legal capacity of 60. The media was further limited to 20 seats, four of which were reserved for Aspen's local mediaNewspapers the Aspen Times
, Aspen Daily News
and radio stations KSPN-FM
and KSNO-FM
. and the remaining 16 allocated by lottery. He specifically alluded to the building's age to justify those limitations.
Colorado State Highway 82
State Highway 82 is an 85.29 mile long state highway in the U.S. state of Colorado.-Route description:SH 82 provides the principal transportation artery of the Roaring Fork Valley on the Colorado Western Slope, running from Interstate 70 at Glenwood Springs southeast past Carbondale, Basalt...
) in Aspen
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
, Colorado, United States. It is a large brick building erected in the late 19th century that serves as offices not just of Pitkin County
Pitkin County, Colorado
Pitkin County is one of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county is named in honor of the late Colorado Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin. The county population was 14,872 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Aspen...
's courts but its other governmental agencies, and the Aspen police. A landmark of the city, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1975.
Like many courthouses, it has a statue of Lady Justice
Lady Justice
Lady Justice |Dike]]) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems.-Depiction:The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to the Goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later...
in the front. Unlike many of the other such statues, she is depicted without a blindfold. In the late 20th and 21st centuries, as Aspen became a popular destination for wealthy and famous people, the courthouse has seen several high-profile defendants and litigants, from Ted Bundy
Ted Bundy
Theodore Robert "Ted" Bundy was an American serial killer, rapist, kidnapper, and necrophile who assaulted and murdered numerous young women during the 1970s, and possibly earlier...
to Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
.
Building
The courthouse is located on the north side of the blockCity block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
of East Main between Galena and Hunter streets, closer to the former on the west. Across the street is an open area around St. Mary's Catholic Church. A mix of commercial and residential properties and the Pitkin County
Pitkin County, Colorado
Pitkin County is one of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county is named in honor of the late Colorado Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin. The county population was 14,872 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Aspen...
Library are to the northwest and a small housing development lies to the east. is to the southeast on South Hunter. Two blocks west is another Aspen landmark, the Hotel Jerome
Hotel Jerome
The Hotel Jerome is located on East Main Street in Aspen, Colorado, United States. It is a brick structure built in the 1880s that is often described as one of the city's major landmarks, its "crown jewel". In 1986 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
. Aspen City Hall
Aspen City Hall
Aspen City Hall, known in the past as Armory Hall, Fraternal Hall, is located at the intersection of South Galena Street and East Hopkins Avenue in Aspen, Colorado, United States. It is a brick building dating to the 1890s...
is a block away at South Galena and East Hopkins. The terrain slopes slightly toward the Roaring Fork River
Roaring Fork River
Roaring Fork River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in west central Colorado in the United States. The river drains a populated and economically vital area of the Colorado Western Slope called the Roaring Fork Valley or Roaring Fork Watershed, which includes the resort...
to the north.
The building itself is a two-story brick structure on a stone foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
, raised to expose the basement. It is set back
Setback (land use)
In land use, a setback is the distance which a building or other structure is set back from a street or road, a river or other stream, a shore or flood plain, or any other place which needs protection. Depending on the jurisdiction, other things like fences, landscaping, septic tanks, and various...
from the street, fronted by a low iron fence, red cobblestone
Cobblestone
Cobblestones are stones that were frequently used in the pavement of early streets. "Cobblestone" is derived from the very old English word "cob", which had a wide range of meanings, one of which was "rounded lump" with overtones of large size...
sidewalk, and small trees and shrubbery. Two large evergreens flank the courthouse. A large modern extension containing the jail is located to the rear.
On the 13-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
south (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, the five-bay projecting entrance pavilion, itself with the center three bays projecting, is complemented by two lesser projections on the third and fourth bays from the center. Bricks are laid in stretcher bond. Stone belt courses
Course (architecture)
A course is a continuous horizontal layer of similarly-sized building material one unit high, usually in a wall. The term is almost always used in conjunction with unit masonry such as brick, cut stone, or concrete masonry units .-Styles:...
provide sills and lintels the narrow one-over-one double-hung sash window
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
s on the first story. Segmental arches of vertical brick, with keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
s, spring from the lintels on the flanking projections.
The second-story windows are similarly treated but less restrained. All have segmental arches; the central window of the center pavilion, and the windows on the flanking ones, are combined under one larger arch with their transoms
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
divided by the brick. Above them is a wide plain wooden frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
topped by a dentilled cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
at the roofline.
A pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
with doubled semicircular window and the same cornice treatment tops the middle three bays. Atop the other projecting sections are small solid wooden parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s with recessed panels alternating with fluting
Fluting (architecture)
Fluting in architecture refers to the shallow grooves running vertically along a surface.It typically refers to the grooves running on a column shaft or a pilaster, but need not necessarily be restricted to those two applications...
. The shallow hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
is pierced by two chimneys in the middle and a tall tower behind the front pavilion.
The lowest of the tower's four stages is a plain wooden section, topped with a cornice. The next two are united by a small pair of windows similar to those in the building, above a recessed panel and topped with a fanlight
Fanlight
A fanlight is a window, semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan, It is placed over another window or a doorway. and is sometimes hinged to a transom. The bars in the fixed glazed window spread out in the manner a sunburst...
and pediment. On the second stage they are flanked by two wooden fluted pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s; on the third by paneling and a spiral carving. The topmost stage is a peaked shingled roof with imitation miniature shed dormer windows.
At the entrance, stone steps rise up to a small, steeply gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d entrance projection faced in rough stone blocks. On the top is a silvery zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
statue of Lady Justice
Lady Justice
Lady Justice |Dike]]) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems.-Depiction:The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to the Goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later...
, without the blindfold common to many other depictions of her. Large wooden paneled double doors topped by an arched fanlight provide entrance.
Construction
In the 1880s, Aspen went from an isolated mining camp on the far side of the Continental DivideContinental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
to a city of over 10,000 people as a result of the Colorado Silver Boom
Colorado Silver Boom
The Colorado Silver Boom was a dramatic expansionist period of silver mining activity in the U.S. state of Colorado in the late 19th century. The boom started in 1879 with the discovery of silver at Leadville...
. Pitkin County
Pitkin County, Colorado
Pitkin County is one of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county is named in honor of the late Colorado Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin. The county population was 14,872 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Aspen...
, named for then-Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin
Frederick Walker Pitkin
Frederick Walker Pitkin , a U.S. Republican Party politician, served as the second Governor of Colorado from 1879 to 1883. Pitkin County, Colorado was named in his honor....
, was established in 1881. By the end of the decade, it needed its own courthouse.
Great controversy surrounded the construction. There were accusations of corruption and favoritism. The county commissioners ignored calls to stop the project and went ahead with a design by Denver architect William Quayle. It was completed and opened early in 1891. The six-foot (2 m) statue of Lady Justice
Lady Justice
Lady Justice |Dike]]) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems.-Depiction:The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to the Goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later...
, one of the few in the United States showing her without the usual blindfold, was made of pressed stamped zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
in Salem, Ohio
Salem, Ohio
Salem is a city in northern Columbiana County and extreme southern Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. At the 2000 census, the city's population was 12,197....
, for a cost of $250 ($ in contemporary dollars).
The statue's painted silvery exterior reflects the silver mining that was the root of Aspen's prosperity at that time. Why the blindfold was omitted is not known for certain. It has been humorously suggested that the commissioners, given the corruption allegations, decided Justice should be able to keep an eye on what was going on around her. Another account has it that the miners, who had previously set up their own informal courts to resolve disputes over claims
Mineral rights
- Mineral estate :Ownership of mineral rights is an estate in real property. Technically it is known as a mineral estate and often referred to as mineral rights...
, were reluctant to cede that authority, even to a legitimate governmental body. They therefore paid for the statue themselves and insisted that she be shown without the blindfold but with scales (weight being an impartial measure of mining success), to emphasize that in Aspen justice could be impartial without artificial restraints.
Later years
When Aspen's population declined after 1893 and the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase ActSherman Silver Purchase Act
The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was enacted on July 14, 1890 as a United States federal law. It was named after its author, Senator John Sherman, an Ohio Republican, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee...
, the courthouse remained functioning as the seat of government. It continued to be used and maintained as the city slipped into its "quiet years", of the early 20th century and its population dropped to less than a thousand. As skiing revived the city following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it would play a role in the cultural changes Aspen underwent in the latter half of the century.
In 1961 Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
, considered the founder of gonzo journalism
Gonzo journalism
Gonzo journalism is a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first-person narrative. The word "gonzo" is believed to be first used in 1970 to describe an article by Hunter S. Thompson, who later popularized the style...
but then unknown, came to Aspen with $2 and decided to stay, eventually settling in nearby Woody Creek
Woody Creek, Colorado
Woody Creek is a census-designated place and a U.S. Post Office located in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States part of the Roaring Fork Valley...
. He later became famous writing articles such as "The Battle of Aspen
The Battle of Aspen
"The Battle of Aspen" was an article published in Rolling Stone #67, dated October 1, 1970 and written by Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. The cover of the magazine ran the teaser "Freak Power in the Rockies", and the article was later reprinted in The Great Shark Hunt with that same title.The article's...
" for Rolling Stone about the hippies and other countercultures of the era
Counterculture of the 1960s
The counterculture of the 1960s refers to a cultural movement that mainly developed in the United States and spread throughout much of the western world between 1960 and 1973. The movement gained momentum during the U.S. government's extensive military intervention in Vietnam...
drawn to Aspen by its natural setting and their indulgence in sex and recreational drug use. In 1970 he ran unsuccessfully for county sheriff, catalyzing a growing conflict between the newer and older, more conservative residents. As part of his platform he promised to "install, on the courthouse lawn, a bastinado platform and set of stocks
Stocks
Stocks are devices used in the medieval and colonial American times as a form of physical punishment involving public humiliation. The stocks partially immobilized its victims and they were often exposed in a public place such as the site of a market to the scorn of those who passed by...
—in order to punish dishonest dope dealers in a proper public fashion."
Two events at the courthouse in 1977 gained national attention. The previous year singer Claudine Longet
Claudine Longet
Claudine Georgette Longet is a French singer and recording artist who was popular during the 1960s and 1970s. She is also an actress and a dancer.Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to pop singer Andy Williams from 1961 until 1975...
had been arrested and charged with murder after fatally shooting her boyfriend, skier Spider Sabich
Spider Sabich
Vladimir Peter Sabich, Jr. was an American alpine ski racer. He was a member of the U.S. Ski Team in the late 1960s and competed at the 1968 Winter Olympics; he was the pro ski racing champion in 1971 & 1972.-Early life:...
. She claimed it had been an accident. Her trial at the courthouse in early 1977 garnered international media attention, particularly because of the presence at the trial of celebrities who had begun making Aspen a second home. One, Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
, a friend of Longet's, sat prominently behind the defense table in the courtroom every day of the trial. She was ultimately found guilty of a misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
charge of negligent homicide
Negligent homicide
Negligent homicide is a criminal charge brought against people who, through criminal negligence, allow others to die.Negligent Homicide is a lesser included offense to first and second degree murder, in the sense that someone guilty of this offense can expect a more lenient sentence, often with...
, and spent three weeks in jail. Many longtime residents, in addition to believing Longet had been punished too lightly, came to consider the attention drawn to Aspen by the trial, and Nicholson's presence in particular, as the beginning of Aspen's conversion from a plain, unpretentious ski town to glamorous Hollywood satellite community.
Another 1976 homicide in the area put the courthouse in the national spotlight again later in 1977. On June 7, serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
Ted Bundy
Ted Bundy
Theodore Robert "Ted" Bundy was an American serial killer, rapist, kidnapper, and necrophile who assaulted and murdered numerous young women during the 1970s, and possibly earlier...
, already serving a state prison sentence for another murder, was taken to Aspen to be tried for the murder of Caryn Campbell outside Snowmass
Snowmass, Colorado
Snowmass is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office located in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. It is situated in the valley of the Roaring Fork River, near the mouth of Snowmass Creek along State Highway 82 between Aspen and Basalt...
the previous year. A onetime law student, he had chosen to represent himself
Pro se legal representation in the United States
Pro se legal representation means advocating on one's own behalf before a court, rather than being represented by a lawyer. This may occur in any court proceeding, whether one is the defendant or plaintiff in civil cases, and when one is a defendant in criminal cases. Pro se is a Latin phrase...
, and thus was not shackled or handcuffed. During a recess in the proceedings, he went to the courthouse's law library
Law library
A law library is a library designed to assist law students, attorneys, judges, and their law clerks and anyone else who finds it necessary to correctly determine the state of the law....
on the second floor, ostensibly to review a map of the area prosecutors had introduced as evidence against him. As soon as he was alone he jumped out the window, 25 feet (7.6 m) above the ground, and fled into the mountains and wilderness around the city. His attempt to reach Crested Butte
Crested Butte, Colorado
Crested Butte is a Home Rule Municipality in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. A former coal mining town now called "the last great Colorado ski town," Crested Butte is a destination for skiing, mountain biking, and a variety of other outdoor activities...
to the south failed, and he was recaptured in Aspen a week later.
Thirteen years later, another trial drew national attention. This time Thompson, who had once attempted to make the courthouse his workplace in his bid for sheriff, came to it as a defendant. Prosecutors had searched his Woody Creek home after porn-film director Gail Palmer
Gail Palmer
Gail Palmer was active as a writer, producer and director of pornographic movies in the U.S...
told them he had grabbed her by the breasts after she refused to join him in a hot-tub party; they found drugs and some explosive devices. Thompson was charged with five felonies. During the months leading to the trial, Thompson's fans and supporters demonstrated outside the courthouse; late in 1990 the charges were dismissed over concerns the evidence against the journalist had been obtained through an unconstitutional search.
By 2010 the courthouse had been remodeled and upgraded. It still lacked the capacity to accommodate large crowds. In 2009 actor Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
was charged with several felonies after allegedly holding a knife to the throat of wife Brooke Mueller
Brooke Mueller
-Early life:Mueller was born in Palm Beach, Florida. She became a cheerleader at the exclusive Benjamin School, where tuition for high-school students is $23,000 a year. Her father was Lutheran and her mother Jewish. Two years after her father's death, her mother married a billionaire. She is the...
on Christmas Day in their rented Aspen home. In advance of his appearances at the courthouse in summer of that year, where he eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, the city and county imposed limitations on access to the courthouse and media presence in the courtroom. Judge James Boyd issued a Decorum Order limiting attendance at the hearings to the courtroom's legal capacity of 60. The media was further limited to 20 seats, four of which were reserved for Aspen's local mediaNewspapers the Aspen Times
Aspen Times
The Aspen Times is an 11,500-circulation, 7-day-a-week newspaper in the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado with a history dating back to 1881.-History:...
, Aspen Daily News
Aspen Daily News
The Aspen Daily News is a 14,500-circulation , 7-day-a-week newspaper in the ski resort of Aspen, Colorado that started in 1978. It is owned by , a Colorado Corporation....
and radio stations KSPN-FM
KSPN-FM
KSPN-FM is an adult album alternative radio station owned by NRC Broadcasting, Inc, and broadcasts at 103.1 MHz FM in the Aspen, Colorado area. The station airs an adult album alternative format and uses the slogan "The Valley's Quality Rock". With over 30 years of Quality Rock experience, this...
and KSNO-FM
KSNO-FM
KSNO-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Album Adult Alternative format. Licensed to Snowmass Village, Colorado, USA, it serves the Aspen area. The station is owned by Cool Radio, LLC, with time brokered to its founder, Marcos Rodriguez....
. and the remaining 16 allocated by lottery. He specifically alluded to the building's age to justify those limitations.
External links
- Court webpage at Colorado state courts website.