Daniel Taubman
Daniel Taubman was a judge of the Colorado Court of Appeals. He assumed office on March 1, 1993. He left office on February 25, 2020.
Taubman was appointed to the court on November 11, 1992, by Democratic Gov. Roy Romer and took office on March 1, 1993. He was retained by voters in 2004 and 2012.[1]
Education
Taubman received his undergraduate degree in government from Cornell University in 1969 and his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1974. He was admitted to the New York Bar in September 1975; the Colorado Bar in October 1975; and the California Bar in June 1978.[2]
Career
Taubman began his legal career in 1974 clerking for U.S. District Court Judge Charles E. Stewart Jr. In November 1975, he joined Pikes Peak Legal Services in Colorado Springs as a staff attorney. From October 1977 to June 1978, he was a law clerk for Stephen Zane Rothchild in San Jose, California. After that, he returned to Pikes Peak Legal Services and served as managing attorney from August 1978 to September 1980. He was a staff attorney with the Center on Social Welfare Policy & Law in New York from September 1980 to April 1982. Taubman joined the Colorado Coalition of Legal Services Programs in April 1982. He served as its director from March 1983 until February 1993.[2]
Elections
2012
- See also: Colorado judicial elections, 2012
Taubman was retained in the general election on November 6, winning 71.42 percent of the vote.[3]
Judicial performance evaluation
The Colorado Commission on Judicial Performance announced its recommendations for judges up for retention in 2012. The commission evaluates judges based on the following criteria: integrity, legal knowledge, communication skills, judicial temperament and administrative performance.[4]
Taubman was recommended for retention by a 10-0 vote. [5]
Noteworthy cases
Colorado panel says CADA does not violate the First Amendment
Prior to their wedding, Charlie Craig and David Mullins solicited a Colorado business, Masterpiece Cakeshop, to design and make a wedding cake. The owner, Jack C. Phillips, refused, citing religious objections to same-sex weddings, but offered to design and bake any other baked good the couple requested. The couple filed discrimination charges under Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA), which prohibits businesses and other places of public accommodation from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. The Colorado Civil Rights Commission issued a cease-and-desist order to Masterpiece Cakeshop, while Phillips alleged that both the order and CADA violated his First Amendment freedoms of expression and religious exercise.[6]
A three-judge panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals composed of Chief Judge Alan Loeb and Judges Daniel Taubman and Michael Berger heard the appeal. Judge Taubman wrote the opinion of the panel in which Chief Judge Loeb and Judge Berger concurred. In his opinion for the panel, Judge Taubman upheld the Commission's order. In rejecting Masterpiece's free expression challenge, Judge Taubman acknowledged that "First Amendment protections extend to conduct that is 'inherently expressive.' ... In deciding whether conduct is 'inherently expressive,' we ask whether ‘[a]n intent to convey a particularized message was present, and [whether] the likelihood was great that the message would be understood by those who viewed it.’" In the panel's view, the crafting of a wedding cake for a same-sex married couple did not present such a likelihood. Judge Taubman noted that designing and selling a wedding cake to any and all customers in a non-discriminatory manner did not convey a celebratory message about same-sex weddings that was likely to be understood by those who viewed the cake. [6]
With respect to Masterpiece's religious exercise challenge, the panel determined that CADA "was not designed to impede religious conduct and does not impose burdens on religious conduct not imposed on secular conduct." Therefore, as the law was neutral to religious exercise and applied to all places of public accommodation generally, the panel reviewed CADA under a standard of review known as rational basis. A rational basis assessment requires that a law be rationally related to a legitimate government interest. Here, the panel held that CADA was rationally related to Colorado's asserted "interest in eliminating discrimination in places of public accommodation." The panel similarly upheld that Phillips' free exercise rights were not violated under the Colorado constitution.[6]
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in this case during its October 2017 term.
- For more, see Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission
Recent news
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See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Votes cast at the General Election held November 2, 2004, "Court of Appeals," accessed September 9, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Colorado Judicial Branch, "Daniel M. Taubman," accessed September 9, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2012 Official General Election Results," May 3, 2013
- ↑ Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation, "Judicial Performance Fact Sheet," November 10, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation, "Honorable Daniel Marc Taubman," Retention year 2012
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Colorado Court of Appeals, Charlie Craig and David Mullins v. Masterpiece Cakeshop, Inc., and any successor entity, and Jack C. Phillips, and Colorado Civil Rights Commission, August 13, 2015
Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Colorado • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Colorado
State courts:
Colorado Supreme Court • Colorado Court of Appeals • Colorado District Courts • Colorado County Courts • Denver Probate Court • Denver Juvenile Court • Colorado Municipal Courts • Colorado Water Courts
State resources:
Courts in Colorado • Colorado judicial elections • Judicial selection in Colorado
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