Ostis Otto Moore

Ostis Otto Moore (May 14, 1896 – December 10, 1990) was an American lawyer, author and political figure who served as a judge and chief justice of the Colorado Supreme Court from 1948 until his retirement in 1969. After retiring from the courts, Moore served as the Assistant District Attorney in the Denver District Attorney's Office under Dale Tooley.

Early life and education Ostis Otto "Otto" Moore, named for his father's best friends Otto and Ostis, was born on May 14, 1896, near Floyds Knobs, Indiana in a farmhouse. His parents were David Burke Moore and Charlotte Scott, who developed tuberculosis when Moore was about five years of age. Hoping to improve her health, the family moved to Denver, Colorado, in 1901. They lived in a tent in northwest Denver during the first summer. Charlotte Scott Moore died in 1906. Moore's brother and sister were sent to Indiana to live with relatives for one year. They returned to Denver in 1907 and David Moore remarried the following year to the best friend of his mother. Moore left home and supported himself with three paper routes. (In 1962, he was interviewed by James Harlan Davis about the KKK. He shared his reminiscences about his experiences during the height of the Ku Klux Klan influence in Colorado.)

In 1927, around the time of the Great Depression, he left the district attorney's office and started his own law practice, often accepting produce and other goods as payment.

In 1939, Moore returned to the Denver District Attorney's office. After being defeated in the election for Denver District Attorney in 1940, he returned to private practice. The William Eugene Wymer case was one of several of his murder defenses that received national publicity. During his service, he wrote the majority opinion in 1968 that set a still-standing precedent that it is unconstitutional to require a defendant to prove insanity. He stated that it was the prosecution's burden to prove guilt or sanity: "It cannot be done … for the very simple reason that in this state our concept of due process of law prohibits it."

Later years In 1970, Moore was asked to write and update the Colorado Criminal Code. a group for African-American Lawyers.

He served as an assistant Denver District Attorney from 1973 to 1983 at the request of the elected Denver District Attorney Dale Tooley. When Tooley resigned to run for Denver mayor in 1983, Moore continued in the office under Norman Early. Moore worked for two more years, and then retired at the age of 89 in May 1985.

Personal life Shortly before he was drafted into the Army, Moore met Ruth Dye of Julesburg, Colorado, they corresponded while he was overseas and they were married in 1919. Moore and wife had one child together, Loahna Moore Chandler, who was born in 1926.

Moore was a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Freemasons, Phi Delta Phi, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He served two terms as president of the University of Denver Alumni Association. He was active in many civic and fraternal organizations. He was an honorary 33 degree Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the El Jebel Shriners in Denver.

Moore's wife, Ruth, died in 1986. Moore died of natural causes on December 10, 1990. He is buried at Fairmount Cemetery (Denver, Colorado).