SERIES DESCRIPTION_________
WILLIAM E. DOYLE PAPERS, 1927-1987
8 Linear Feet
Collection number 35
The papers of William E. Doyle were donated to the Auraria Library Archives and Special Collections Department in two parts. Diplomas, licenses, photographs, and personal effects were donated in 1988 by Mrs. Helen S. Doyle. Doyle's professional papers were stored in filing cabinets in Denver's City and County Building and were transferred to the Library in 1989. Professor Stephen J. Leonard of Metropolitan State College was instrumental in the transfer of Judge Doyle's papers to the Auraria Library. The papers were processed by Dennis W. Brendel under the direction of Rutherford W. Witthus, Head of Archives and Special Collections, during the Fall Semester of 1989.
Property rights are held by the Auraria Library Archives and Special Collections Department. Photocopies may be made for purposes of scholarly research.
Citation:
1911 Born in Denver, Colorado
1929 Graduated from West High School, Denver, Colorado
1933 Graduated from the University of Colorado A.B.
1937 Graduated from George Washington University L.L.B.
1938 License to practice law in the state of Colorado
1938 Deputy District Attorney, Denver
1941 Practicing attorney, civil and criminal litigation
1942-45 U.S. Army, served in African, Sicilian,Italian,
French and German campaigns
1946 Returned to private practice
1946-57 Taught at the Westminster Law School, Denver,Colorado
1947 Denver Charter Convention, member
1948 Denver District Court judge, serving
out a two-month vacancy
1948-53 Conducted Bar Refresher Courses for law
graduates at the University of Colorado
1949 Chief Deputy District Attorney, Denver
1954 District Judge, interim term 2nd Judicial District
1956 Managed the successful U.S. Senate campaign of his
brother-in-law, John A. Carroll
1956-69 Taught at the University of Denver College of Law
1958 Elected to the Colorado Supreme Court
1961 U.S. District Court in Denver
1971 U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals
1982 Received Master of Laws of Judicial Process at the
age of 71 from the University of Virginia law school
1986 Died after a long illness
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE__________________
William E. Doyle was born in Denver, Colorado, on February 5, 1911, the son of William R. Doyle and Sarah (Harrington) Doyle. After attending Denver's West High School, he graduated from the University of Colorado in 1933. Doyle obtained his law degree in 1937 from George Washington University, Washington D.C. It was at law school that he met his future wife, Helen. They had two children. After graduation he came back to his home town and worked in the Denver District Attorney's office as an investigator. Doyle was a deputy district attorney from 1938 to 1941, when he set up his private practice.
In 1942, he entered the U.S. Army as a private and was discharged in 1945 as a Second Lieutenant. He served in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany.
Doyle returned to private practice in 1946. He became a Denver District Court judge in 1948, serving out a two- month vacancy, before going to work for District Attorney Bert Keating as his chief deputy.
In 1952, Doyle ran for the Colorado Supreme Court. Although he polled 100,000 votes ahead of the Democratic national ticket, he was defeated. He managed the 1956 campaign of his brother-in-law, the late U.S. Senator John A. Carroll. Doyle was elected to the Colorado Supreme Court in 1958, serving until President John F. Kennedy appointed him to the United States District Court bench in Denver in 1961. From 1971 to 1984, he served on the United States 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. He will be remembered for his controversial decision in 1974 that Denver students be bused in order to desegregate public schools throughout the city. Parents of children attending public schools sued individually, on behalf of their children and others, to remedy alleged segregation in certain schools. Judge Doyle held that the Denver Public Schools system was a dual system (See: Opinions of the Honorable William E. Doyle, Judge, United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit 1974, Box 1, Bk 4). The landmark school desegregation case thrust Judge Doyle into the public spotlight, where he was both criticized and praised for his ruling. In 1984, Judge Doyle reduced his duties by assuming senior status on the court. He continued to participate in decisions, and wrote a dissent to a majority ruling in 1985 in the Karen Silkwood case.
Judge Doyle was a member of the Denver Charter Convention, board member of the Legal Aid Society, trustee of the Denver Bar Association, member of the Fire and Police Civil Service Commission, member of the Board of Ambassadors at Loretto Heights College, and a Federal trial examiner and arbitrator.
After a long illness, Judge Doyle died May 2, 1986 .
SCOPE AND CONTENTS__________________
The William E. Doyle Papers were donated to the Auraria Library Archives and Special Collections department by Mrs. Helen S. Doyle in 1988 and 1989. The collection spans the years 1927 to 1987, with the bulk of the material falling into the period of his active years on the Colorado Supreme Court (1958 to 1961) and the United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit (1971 to 1984).
The collection includes nine bound volumes of opinions of Judge William E. Doyle from 1970 to 1985, when he served on the United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit. The major portion of the collection contains many typescripts of Judge Doyle's opinions from 1959 to 1961, when he served on the Colorado Supreme Court. Also included are documents relating to rules of criminal procedure, studies of districts courts, Supreme Court procedures, legislative activity of the Judicial Department, studies of county courts, judicial reorganization, report to the Colorado General Assembly, judicial business of Colorado Courts, opinions of other judges, petitions for rehearing, Colorado Supreme Court backlog, applications and recommendations, Supreme Court clerk memos, Supreme Court dockets, Court announcements, and miscellaneous personal items relating to his Court years.
Judge William E. Doyle's 1961 arbitration of the Frontier Airlines mediation includes notes, exhibits, arguments, finding, and receipt of payment.
The collection contains some handwritten and typed correspondence, drafts of speeches, degrees, licenses, memberships, certificates, resolutions, year books, invitations, campaign ephemera, articles, photographs, Christmas cards, and newspaper clippings. Few items relating to his family and personal life are included.
Because the collection does not present a complete picture of Judge Doyle's professional or personal life, his files of newspaper clippings have been kept with the collection of papers. Researchers may find that the clippings provide the links to contemporary events in which Doyle played a part or on which he had an effect.
Further information about Judge William E. Doyle's career may be found in the clipping files of the Western History Department of the Denver Public Library. Published copies of his Colorado Supreme Court opinions may be found in the Pacific Reporter, volumes of which may be found at Auraria Library and other area libraries. Briefs and records of Colorado Supreme Court cases heard by Doyle are deposited in the Colorado State Archives.
Box Number Series ____________________________________________________________
1 OPINIONS: 10TH APPEALS COURT
1970-1984
1-4 OPINIONS: COLORADO SUPREME COURT
1959-1961
4-6 PROFESSIONAL PAPERS: CORRESPONDENCE, ARBITRATION,
SPEECHES, AND MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS
1959-1984
6-8 PERSONAL PAPERS: DEGREES, DIPLOMAS, CORRESPONDENCE,
YEARBOOKS, PHOTOGRAPHS, FAMILY PAPERS, AND PERSONAL EFFECTS
1927-1987
8 NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS
8 EPHEMERA
1950-1958