Marshall Quiat was, by most accounts, a well-dressed, gentlemanly man – a good lawyer and effective speaker.
But Quiat, who died Oct. 15 at age 84, had another side.
Once while Quiat, a Democrat, was serving as a representative in the state legislature, he wanted a particular bill brought to the floor. The only copy, however, was in the office of the lieutenant governor and the bill couldn’t be discussed until that copy was actually in the House chamber.
Two Republican legislators had “barricaded” themselves in the office, according a The Denver Post story.
So Quiat crawled along the ledge of the Capitol building and got to the lieutenant governor’s office. He planned to crawl through an open window and get the bill.
He got to the office, but when he was spotted, the window was slammed in his face.
Later, when he was named district judge for three mountain counties, he told The Denver Post, “I was much younger then and I have tried to forget” the incident. He was in his 20s when he served in the legislature.
But a longtime friend, Bob Drake, senior vice president of the Boulder polling firm Tal mey-Drake Research and Strategy, laughed and said, “Marshall was very proud of that.”
“He was a wonderful, colorful, well-grounded person,” said his sister, Carol Leight of Denver.
“He’d see somebody crying in the halls (of the courthouse) and sit down and ask if he could help,” said June Bourrillion, his law partner.
“He was quiet and reserved, warm and generous,” said his son, Matthew Quiat of Denver. But he had a soft spot for those in need.
“He was a one-man, under-the-radar public defender and legal aid society,” Drake said. “He had incredible compassion. His biggest thing was injustice and he would go to any length to stop it.”
Quiat had a way of nudging people toward the law, and it worked in the case of Bourrillion, who began as his secretary. He kept giving her more and more work, saying “You’re gonna be really good.” She caved in, went to law school and ended up being his partner.
Totally at ease in the courtroom, Marshall Quiat would prepare opening and closing arguments, and then speak off the cuff, she said.
Quiat was so calm in courtroom appearances that while he was waiting for his case to be called, he’d work out elaborate calculus problems. And he always had a book to read too, Drake said.
Off hours were spent with his ham radio. Sometimes, he carried one of those to court too.
He sparked up his courtroom attire with “a loud bow tie or sport coat,” Drake said.
Marshall Quiat was born in Denver on March 10, 1922. He earned his bachelor’s and law degrees at the University of Colorado and practiced law from 1949 until 2005.
He married Ruth Laura Saunders in 1950. She died in 1995. He married Jane Cooley in 1996 and she died in 2004.
He served in the Army field artillery during World War II and was wounded in Italy. He received the Purple Heart.
Quiat served as county judge in Gilpin County from 1956 to 1959 and then was named district judge for Jefferson, Clear Creek and Gilpin counties – a job he had for a year.
He was in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1949 to 1951 and served on various judiciary reform, mental health and child welfare advisory boards in the metro area.
A passionate Democrat, Quiat often went door-to-door to campaign for candidates.
In addition to his son and sister, he is survived by his brother, Gerald Quiat of Denver.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
