The Sam Cary Bar Association (SCBA) was formed in September of 1971, in order to create a self-help group to instill professionalism and serve as a vehicle for the exchange of ideas among African-American lawyers. The original seven members were: Norman Early, Dan Muse, Raymond Jones, Gary Jackson, Phillip Jones, King Trimble and Billy Lewis. Probably the first controversial task undertaken by the new group was choosing “Sam Cary” as the name. It was deemed by several African-American attorneys to be inappropriate to have a bar association named after an attorney disbarred from practice. However, an examination conducted by the organization into the life and law practice of Sam Cary (including an address to the organization by the Honorable O. Otto Moore, former Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court), revealed that Sam Cary was indeed an appropriate person after whom to name the organization.

When the SCBA was formed in 1971, there were less than 15 African-American attorneys practicing law in Colorado. The initial membership meetings were held in members’ homes and in their law offices. Presently, there are over 300 African-American attorneys in Colorado.

ABOUT SAMUEL E. CARY

Nearly a century ago in Colorado, there was a remarkable attorney by the name of Samuel Cary. Cary was a remarkable attorney, in part, because he practiced law as an African-American at a time when there was very little minority representation in the American West, including Colorado. In 1910, Cary became the first African-American graduate of the Washburn University School of Law, in Topeka, Kansas (V. 42, No. 4 Washburn Law Journal 803, 822, (2004).

More importantly, however, Cary was a remarkable attorney because he dedicated his professional life and considerable skill to securing justice for all those who sought it, not merely those who could afford to pay. During a time when practicing law as an African-American was a monumental challenge in and of itself, Cary willingly took on the additional challenge of representing those individuals who might otherwise have been denied representation entirely.

As an attorney with a specialty in criminal law, Cary’s clientele was made up of the people mainstream lawyers often shunned as clients: Blacks, Asians, Indians and the poor, many of whom could ill afford to pay him. It was commonly known among his family and friends that “nearly half of Denver owed him money.” (The Colorado Lawyer, Six of the Greatest: A Tribute to Outstanding Lawyers in Colorado History, June 1994, Vol. 23, No. 7, p. 1487).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the timing and character of his practice, Cary’s legal career was not without controversy. In the fall of 1926, the all-white Colorado Bar Association, acting on complaints it had received, petitioned to have him disbarred. A referee was appointed to take testimony and report, and he did so, recommending disbarment on October 15, 1926. Upon review, the Supreme Court of Colorado elected not to disturb the referee’s findings and on December 20, 1926, “the name [Samuel Cary was] stricken from the roll of attorneys of [Colorado], and he [was] forbidden to appear as such in any of its courts.” (People ex rel. Colorado Bar Association v. Cary, 251 P. 597; 80 Colo. 443, 445 (1927)). Questions remain whether the punishment was harsh and unjust, and whether racial prejudice played a part in Cary’s disbarment. Years later, in 1935, Cary was reinstated to the Colorado Bar and was once again permitted to practice law.

The Sam Cary Bar Association endeavors to embody the fortitude and spirit of its iconic namesake.