Retired federal district judge Sherman Finesilver, who died today at age 79, remained circumspect in a career characterized by highly public cases where defendants ranged from a former president’s son to equivocal characters bickering over the world’s largest pearl.
“Do not confuse notoriety and fame with greatness,” he once told a friend.
Born and schooled in Colorado, Finesilver’s judicial career began when he was appointed a municipal court judge in 1955. President Richard M. Nixon appointed him to the federal bench in October 1971. Finesilver became chief judge in 1982.
In perhaps his most celebrated, and certainly most widely-documented, case he presided over the special grand jury investigating environmental violations at the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons plant near Boulder.
The investigation resulted in indictments against U.S. government and Rockwell International Corp. officials. When the case was settled with a plea bargain and an $85 million fine, the jurors famously united as a runaway jury.
They immediately authored a report describing the defendants’ “ongoing criminal activity.” Finesilver put the jurors under a gag order and sealed the report, eventually releasing what he termed a “heavily edited” version, further fueling a litigious fire that still burns.
That case dominated a 39-year judicial career full of high-profile lawsuits. Finesilver handled the 1991 dispute that resulted in a $49.5 million settlement in the government’s case against Neil Bush and other directors of the failed Silverado Banking, Savings and Loan.
He presided over the trial that followed the 1987 crash of a Continental Airlines jet at Stapleton Airport, when 28 people died. In 1992, he ordered psychiatric treatment along with a prison sentence and fine for an Arvada legal secretary caught carrying a loaded pistol as she stalked former president George H.W. Bush.
In 1994, he resolved a lengthy federal court battle over the ownership of the 14-pound Pearl of Allah, a gem reputedly grown under order from philosopher Lao-Tzu and connected to a record-setting penalty in a wrongful-death lawsuit.
“It was like ‘Guys and Dolls’ in his courtroom, with a lot of people dressed like hoodlums,” said his wife, Annette Finesilver.
Finesilver retired from the bench in 1994, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family, and refine his fly-fishing technique. He particularly enjoyed the Blue River area, where a property-owning friend named a pond “Lake Sherman” in his honor.
Though his health faltered in later years, Finesilver enjoyed joining son Steven Finesilver, who coaches George Washington High School’s football team. The players affectionately nicknamed the judge “Big Coach.”
Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Congregation Emanuel, 51 Grape St.
Besides his wife, survivors include daughter Susan Finesilver of Boulder; sons Steven Finesilver and Jay Finesilver, both of Denver; and 11 grandchildren.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-954-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com