“Justice, Justice Shalt Thou Pursue.” Deuteronomy 16:20. Such a noble command should inspire every lawyer, as it has inspired the Honorable Wiley Y. Daniel. Judge Daniel was honored as the recipient of the 2006 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Tenth Circuit for his example to younger lawyers.
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, to a school principal father and a school teacher mother, Judge Daniel recognized at an early age the importance of education and hard work. His solid academic background got him into prestigious Howard University. At an early point in his life, he realized his true calling was law and he started studying history and government to prepare him for law school. At Howard Law, he discovered a need to be a social engineer for justice by studying with professors who played major roles in Brown v. Board of Education.
Beginning in private practice in Detroit, he gained expertise in handling commercial and business litigation. Early in his Detroit practice, he found another role model, the legendary Wade McCree—a U.S. district court judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the United States Solicitor General. Judge Daniel used Judge McCree’s example to push himself even harder in his career.
After moving to Denver, he eventually became Denver’s managing partner at Popham, Haik, Schnobrich & Kaufman, Ltd. He continued his commitment to the law by immersing himself in any activity that he felt could advance the profession. A highlight of that service was his presidency of the Colorado Bar Association in 1992-93. Before being nominated to the federal bench, he was also president of the Western States Bar Association and the Sam Cary Bar Association. He was an active leader in the American Bar Association and the Denver Bar Association, while lecturing on trial tactics at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy.
The Senate confirmed his nomination as a United States District Judge for the District of Colorado in 1995. On the federal bench, he supervised the pro se litigation division; he co-chaired the committee that drafted a comprehensive revision of local court rules; and he became a member of both the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Resources (and chair of the Statistics Subcommittee) and the Executive Committee of the Federal Judges Association (and Vice-President for Planning and Security).
As described in his nomination, his work has “taken him from the boardroom of … Colorado State University, University of Southern Colorado, and Fort Lewis College through gubernatorial appointments to the State Board of Agriculture to working in Denver’s public housing projects (as a mentor and board member of The Bridge Project, which maintains an educational and cultural enrichment program).”
Of course, beyond the incredible demands on his time, is what sets Judge Daniel apart from his contemporaries is his professionalism. Other judges describe him as a judges’ judge, with a reputation for deciding each case before him fairly, with independence, and based on the law and the facts. As a teacher and mentor, as several Deans attested, he has been an inspiration to a genera¬tion of law students. As a Colorado Supreme Court justice noted about this unassuming and friendly profes¬sional, he nurtures and encourages new lawyers.
Although only scratching the service of the laudatory comments about Judge Daniel, it is plain why he would have undertaken a leading role in founding of the Thompson G. Marsh American Inn of Court. Demonstrating his love for the movement and its ideals, he became president of that Inn and later served as a member of the Board of Trustees and on the Executive Committee of the American Inns of Court Foundation.
Judge Daniel and Ida, his wife of 35 years, have three grown daughters and recently welcomed their first grandchild. The entire family stays active in their church, a community with a rich history of involvement in social justice issues.
Not long ago, a comment attributed to the Judge speaks to his passionate views toward justice: “I believe that the legal profession must function in a manner that allows persons of all economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds to have a fair chance to obtain legal representation from trained attorneys who place the interests of their clients ahead of their own personal welfare.” Judge Daniel’s maxim, “Justice, Justice Shalt Thou Pursue,” has truly guided a noble life to high purpose.