David Manter’s favorite T-shirt was the one that had the Bill of Rights printed on it – front and back.
Manter, who died Feb. 25 at 78, spent his entire life fighting for the underdog.
Such a mission started at age 3, when a playground bully was bothering his 6-year-old sister. Manter bit the boy on his leg, said his daughter, April Manter of Denver.
“He was a marvelous human being,” said Colorado Supreme Court Justice Michael Bender. “He dedicated his life to assisting the poor get justice, and he was very talented.”
For many years, Manter was a public defender in Denver and then in Jefferson County.
“He didn’t just go through the motions (for clients) or do it for the paycheck,” said Phil Cherner, who once worked for Manter. “He believed in what he was doing. If people were poor or downtrodden or under the heel of authorities, David was their man.”
Manter defended people charged with murder, prostitution, robbery, pimping or any other offense.
One of his clients was Lewis Roger Moore, a paraplegic convicted in the 1979 killing and dismemberment of his roommate, William Charles Kidd.
Manter got all manner of pay when he was in private practice. One time, it was a motorcycle and leather jacket.
He never was threatened, except the time the pimp of a prostitute he was representing came to Manter’s office to get the woman.
The pimp’s demands escalated.
“David just stood him down and wouldn’t let him go up the steps,” said Cherner, a Denver resident. The standoff lasted until the cops came.
“No one scared him,” said Manter’s son Doug Manter of Denver. “The biggest thing I learned from him was that there was never any time when wrong was allowable.”
David Manter was born in Waltham, Mass., on Feb. 22, 1929.
After attending the Colorado School of Mines for a year, he earned a degree in political science and psychology at the University of Colorado.
He and a buddy, Dan Taiclet, were cruising Colfax Avenue in in the mid-1950s when they met a couple of girls: Barbara Aiken and Kathy Prescott.
The four paired off – with Manter landing Aiken – and in six weeks the two couples had a double wedding ceremony. That was Dec. 24, 1955.
Manter’s marriage lasted until his death.
Manter decided on a law career and earned his degree at the University of Denver.
After private practice, he became a public defender.
In addition to his wife, son and daughter, he is survived by another son, Charles Manter of Denver, two grandchildren, and his sister, Carolyn Ansari of Orange, Calif.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
