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Vacation, mistaken filing led to order to show cause, lawyers for MyPillow CEO say

homesafetytechpros — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 23:50:23 +0000

Trials & Litigation

Vacation, mistaken filing led to order to show cause, lawyers for MyPillow CEO say

April 29, 2025, 2:29 pm CDT

MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell on April 4, 2023, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Wilfredo Lee/The Associated Press)

Human error led lawyers representing MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to file a draft document with incorrect case citations instead of the final version, according to a response to a federal judge’s order to show cause.

The lawyers didn’t realize that they had filed the wrong document, an early draft without corrections, until questioning 55 days later by the judge, according to their April 25 response.

Law360 has the story.

U.S. District Judge Nina Y. Wang of the District of Colorado had ordered the lawyers on April 23 to show cause why they shouldn’t be referred for discipline. Wang said she identified “nearly 30 defective citations” of cases, including citations to cases that don’t exist, in the lawyers’ Feb. 10 brief.

Lawyer Christopher I. Kachouroff said in a declaration his co-counsel filed the draft document instead of the final version that they “had carefully cite-checked and edited.” At the time, Kachouroff was on a one-week vacation to Mexico, where there were “limitations on internet service.”

But what happened wasn’t clear, Kachouroff said, when he was questioned in court by Wang. Kachouroff was “taken by complete surprise” because he was unaware of the mistake, he said in the declaration.

“In the face of the court’s detailed questioning, I was utterly flustered and embarrassed, and due to my ignorance of what was going on, found myself at a loss for words,” Kachouroff said.

Kachouroff said he routinely uses artificial intelligence to analyze the structure and the logic of legal arguments. He does not, however, rely on AI to do legal research or find cases.

“Regardless of whether I use AI in a particular pleading,” he wrote, “I always conduct verification of citations before filing.”

Kachouroff and his co-counsel, Jennifer T. DeMaster, are seeking leave to replace the draft document with the correct one.

Lindell is being sued for defamation by Eric Coomer, a former executive with Dominion Voting Systems. He alleges that Lindell and his related companies are “among the most prolific vectors of baseless conspiracy theories claiming election fraud in the 2020 election.”

Lindell allegedly amplified false allegations that Coomer may have been involved in a rigged election and a criminal conspiracy, leading to “credible death threats” against him and banishment from the elections industry, Coomer’s second amended complaint alleges.

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Colorado judge to rule on Trump’s controversial deportations

homesafetytechpros — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 15:25:16 +0000

President Donald Trump at a press conference at the White House in Washington on February 27, 2025 (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Sipa USA; via AP Images)

A federal judge in Colorado this week appeared skeptical of allowing the Trump administration to resume using an 18th-century wartime authority to fast-track the removal of Venezuelan migrants with limited notice and minimal, if any, due process.

U.S. District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney on Monday heard arguments from attorneys representing the Justice Department and immigration rights groups regarding whether she should renew a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the government from invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA) to deport migrants to a notorious work camp in El Salvador.

The hearing came after the U.S. Supreme Court in the early morning hours of Saturday issued an order — the first and only Saturday order issued this term — directing the government “not to remove” any immigrant detainees subject to President Donald Trump’s proclamation invoking the AEA in northern Texas.

The Saturday order follows the justices April 7 order in which they unanimously held that “AEA detainees must receive notice after the date of this order that they are subject to removal” under the AEA “within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs.”

In light of the high court’s ruling, an incredulous Sweeney questioned how the government could prevail in the instant case, asking the government’s attorney, “How could I not continue the temporary restraining order?” the Daily Camera reported.

Seeking to have the TRO lifted, the DOJ assured the court that any individuals subject to removal under the act would be given 24 hours to challenge their deportation before a judge, Denver CBS affiliate KCNC reported.

Attorneys from the ACLU and the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, the organizations representing the two unnamed petitioners in the case, pushed back on the administration’s position, asserting that affording migrants only one day to file individual habeas corpus petitions could not possibly comply with the Supreme Court’s directive requiring “reasonable time” for court challenges.

“The government wants to give as little notice as possible so they can pull people out of the country without a judge reviewing it,” Tim Macdonald, legal director of the ACLU of Colorado, told KCNC following the hearing. “The idea that 24 hours is sufficient for someone who’s detained at the Aurora detention facility, who likely doesn’t speak English, who may not have a high level of education, who doesn’t have a lawyer, who doesn’t have access to a phone — the idea that person can file a, quote, ‘writ of habeas corpus’ in 24 hours is preposterous.”

Macdonald reportedly requested that Sweeney not only prevent his clients from removal under the AEA, he also sought an order barring the deportation of any similarly situated individuals in Colorado. He claimed that of the approximately 1,200 people currently being held at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Aurora, about 85% do not have legal representation.

“They tried to remove people with hours’ notice and ship them out before a court could question that,” Macdonald said during the hearing, per Denver ABC affiliate KMGH. “They’re trying to use [the AEA] in a way that is unconstitutional and illegal.”

Before the hearing concluded, Sweeney, a Joe Biden appointee, reportedly said that she planned to issue a formal ruling within 24 hours.

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Witness says teen whooped when thrown rock hit woman’s car

homesafetytechpros — Sat, 19 Apr 2025 22:14:58 +0000

Left: Alexa Bartell (Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department). Right: Joseph Koenig (Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department).

The scene inside a Colorado courtroom looked a grim picture of human action on Friday as a young and condemned man testified to his onetime best friend’s alleged glee in violence.

Joseph Edwin Koenig, 20, was a high school senior, but 18 years old, when he and two friends were charged with “extreme indifference” murder over the April 19, 2023, death of Alexa Bartell, 20.

On the day in question, the windshield of the victim’s Chevy Spark was struck and smashed by what authorities termed a “large landscaping rock.” The impact sent the young woman’s car careening “off the roadway” on a remote stretch of road in Jefferson County.

Bartell died a horrible death in the ensuing crash; prosecutors previously testified the victim’s brain was found in her backseat.

“There was biological matter on the roadway,” a deputy sheriff who led the murder probe testified during a hearing in October 2023.

In May 2024, two codefendants in the case, Nicholas “Mitch” James Karol-Chik, and Zachary Kwak, pleaded guilty to lesser crimes, and substantially lesser crimes, respectively. They both agreed to testify against Koenig during his jury trial in Jefferson County District Court.

Each of the codefendants, to varying degrees, played instrumental parts in the rock-throwing that night. But Karol-Chik was admittedly more culpable than Kwak, having also taken part in additional such attacks in February 2023 and even days before in early April 2023.

On Friday, Karol-Chik told jurors Koenig let out an excited whoop as he saw Bartell’s compact car drive off Indiana Street and through a fence in a field near the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, according to a courtroom report by the Denver Post.

“He was excited,” the witness told the jury, referring to the defendant. “He would just look at us with this big smile on his face.”

On that fateful night, several landscaping rocks were thrown at other cars, both in motion and parked. But some claimed details are mixed.

Kwak maintains he did not throw any of the rocks at all that night, according to the Post. Instead, Kwak earlier testified he only collected the rocks from multiple parking lots and then handed them over to the two front-seat passengers, who threw them.

The speedometer in the teenagers’ vehicle was 103 mph just before the 9.3-pound rock was thrown that took Bartell’s life, Kwak also previously testified. Karol-Chik, however, said the car was doing 80 mph. Both men said Koenig sped up before the final, fatal attack.

Karol-Chik went on to say the celebratory whooping and smiles were in line with how the trio had generally acted over the thrown rocks that night; when a rock struck a car, they would express delight; when a rock missed a car, they would express disappointment.

“We only thought of them as cars,” the witness continued. “But we never thought of who may be driving them.”

Each of the defendants was initially charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, assault in the second degree, and attempted second-degree assault. Kwak took a plea deal on three assault charges: one count of first-degree assault on Bartell and two counts of second-degree assault for attacks on three other victims. Karol-Chik pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder.

Even with plea deals, Karol-Chik and Kwak face decades behind bars; they are slated to be sentenced on May 1 and May 2, respectively.

Koenig, for his part, has conceded some responsibility. His lawyers insist he should only be convicted of manslaughter because none of the rock-throwers had the intent to kill, or even harm, anyone else.

The defense is also hinging some hopes on long-inconsistent statements from Karol-Chik, who for several months told prosecutors that Kwak was the one who threw the rock that killed Bartell.

Only during a fourth and final proffer interview — an interview in service of a plea deal — did Karol-Chik finally tell investigators Koenig was the person responsible for the woman’s death.

At the time, he and Koenig were best friends and “almost close enough to be brothers,” Karol-Chik reportedly told the jury. The lies came during three out of four proffer interviews, because Koenig and Karol-Chik agreed to pin the crime on Kwak, who they barely knew, during a discussion after seeing emergency vehicles later that night.

“We went over everything that happened and it was at that time that Joe said to me that we wouldn’t have to worry about it, we’ll just say that Zach did it,” Karol-Chik testified on Friday.

On cross-examination, however, Karol-Chik also said he long believed Kwak had actually thrown the rock, according to the Post.

The witness testified he remembered remarking on the sheer size of the rock, recalling he told Kwak it was too big to throw and being rebuffed. Karol-Chik went on to say he remembered Kwak saying he would throw the rock if Karol-Chik would not.

Then, the state worked to clean things up a bit.

“Was the truth that Joseph Koenig threw the rock that killed Alexa Bartell?” a prosecutor asked on redirect.

Karol-Chik replied in the affirmative.

This coming week, jurors will decide who and what to believe. Closing arguments are scheduled to end by April 21.

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Matt Naham contributed to this report.

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Supreme Court will review Colorado ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 02:38:07 +0000

U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court will review Colorado ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 10, 2025, 1:38 pm CDT

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether a Colorado ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors violates the First Amendment. (Image from Shutterstock)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether a Colorado ban on conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors—which aims to change sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling—violates the First Amendment.

The high court agreed to hear a case challenging a Colorado law that imposes professional discipline on licensed counselors who engage in such therapy, report SCOTUSblog and Law.com.

At issue is whether the ban censors counseling based on the viewpoint expressed in violation of the free speech clause or whether it is a permissible regulation of conduct, as the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Denver held in the case.

The plaintiff challenging the law, licensed counselor Kaley Chiles, is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal advocacy group, according to a March 10 press release. She is a counselor with “Christian worldview” who helps clients with gender-identity issues, the press release said.

“Though Chiles never promises that she can solve these issues,” the cert petition said, “she believes clients can accept the bodies that God has given them and find peace.”

The press release said it is significant that the Colorado law “only prohibits counseling conversations in one direction. For example, it allows counseling conversations that aim to steer young people toward a gender identity different than their sex but prohibits conversations that aim to help them return to comfort with their sex when they desire that.”

Circuits are split on whether bans on conversion therapy regulate speech or conduct, according to the cert petition. The 11th Circuit at Atlanta and the 3rd Circuit at Philadelphia have ruled that the laws regulate speech, while the 10th Circuit and the 9th Circuit at San Francisco have determined that the laws regulate conduct.

Colorado’s brief opposing cert said its law was “based on overwhelming evidence that efforts to change a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity are unsafe and ineffective.”

The state argues that Supreme Court precedent “makes clear that the First Amendment allows states to reasonably regulate professional conduct to protect patients from substandard treatment, even when that regulation incidentally burdens speech.”

The case is Chiles v. Salazar.

The SCOTUSblog case page is here.

Supreme Court declines to consider challenge to conversion-therapy ban; 3 justices would have heard case

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Former security guard who dismembered woman is found guilty

homesafetytechpros — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 10:12:54 +0000

Background: The Pueblo County, Colo. courthouse where Solomon Martinez stood trial (KKTV). Inset: Solomon Martinez (Pueblo Police Department).

A Colorado man who was arrested with human remains in his jacket was convicted of murder after attempting to claim that his victim killed herself.

Solomon Martinez, 27, was found guilty by a jury on March 13 after going on trial for the January 2024 murder of Renee Portillos, 47. According to reporting from the courtroom by KKTV, a local CBS affiliate, prosecutors presented DNA evidence, the autopsy report, and evidence from Martinez’s phone that pointed to his guilt. The defense unsuccessfully argued that Portillos killed herself.

When Martinez was arrested by officers with the Pueblo Police Department on Jan. 10, 2024, he was working as a private security guard at the Sangre De Cristo Arts Center. In court documents obtained by ABC affiliate KRDO at the time, officers stated that they overheard Martinez talking before they made contact with him. He reportedly said, “I had a hand in my jacket for two days.”

According to court documents, officers found a severed, human hand in a plastic bag in the pocket of his jacket as well as blood in his vehicle. During questioning by police, officers noticed visible cuts on his hands. A witness reportedly showed police a video he recorded that showed the victim’s body, which had been decapitated.

The documents stated that Martinez told police that he picked up Portillos for a sexual encounter on the night of Jan. 8, 2024. Martinez claimed that she demanded to be paid for the encounter and he refused. After that, he said that he dropped her off in the early hours of the morning.

Martinez’s story to police also involved his roommate at the time. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Pueblo Chieftain, the unnamed roommate spotted a blood-covered Martinez at a car wash at about 5 a.m. on Jan. 9. Martinez reportedly asked his roommate to borrow some tools and dig a 10-foot-deep hole, offering to forgive $1,000 of debt in exchange for his help.

The roommate declined, later telling KRDO, “I was terrified. I was beyond terrified. Like, I can’t even put into words how physically scared I was.” The outlet reported that a friend of the roommate called the police.

Portillos’ remains were found on Jan. 9 in Fountain Creek.

Martinez was found guilty of first-degree murder after deliberation, tampering with a dead body, and abuse of a corpse.

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2 tried to get meth, tobacco into prison with cannon: Cops

homesafetytechpros — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 15:09:52 +0000

Left: Jose Francisco Herrera Munoz (GPSO). Right: Angel Gonzales Gutierrez(GPSO).

Two men from Colorado were arrested after they allegedly tried to smuggle tens of thousands of dollars worth of methamphetamine and tobacco into a federal prison in Louisiana by launching the contraband over a security wall using a “professionally manufactured” cannon.

Jose Francisco Herrera Munoz, 18, and Angel Gonzales Gutierrez, 19, were taken into custody and charged with one count each of attempting to introduce contraband into a penal institution and one count each of attempting to distribute methamphetamine, authorities announced.

According to a news release from the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office, the two suspects were attempting to “smuggle in $112,000 worth of tobacco and $89,500 worth of methamphetamine into the Federal Prison, by using a cannon.”

The incident took place in unincorporated Grant Parish, Louisiana, which is about 120 miles north of Lafayette. The parish is home to U.S. Penitentiary Pollock, a high-security facility for male inmates that is overseen by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

The sheriff’s office said that the two suspects, both of whom are from Greely, Colorado, had planned to use the cannon to “launch the items over a security fence onto the grounds of the Federal Prison.” The cannon, which was propelled by compressed air, had “a range of shooting items more than 350 feet,” authorities said.

Grant Parish Sheriff Steven McCain told Louisiana Radio Network that the two suspects’ attempt at getting the drugs in the facility was not successful.

“Thanks to a very observant deputy, he was able to stop it before they were able to get the drugs into the prison,” McCain told the network. “That much meth would have just been devastating in that population.”

The sheriff also told the network that the cannon they recovered was not a homemade gadget.

“This was not something that was homemade,” McCain said. “It was bought, and it was professionally manufactured, and it’s very powerful.”

Following the arrests of the suspects, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) submitted a detainer for Munoz, who they said was in the country illegally.

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Prosecutor ‘poisoned the morale’ of DA’s office with fake harassment texts, disbarment order says

homesafetytechpros — Sat, 11 Jan 2025 18:58:42 +0000

Ethics

Prosecutor ‘poisoned the morale’ of DA’s office with fake harassment texts, disbarment order says

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 10, 2025, 9:32 am CST

A former prosecutor in Colorado should be disbarred for faking four texts that she attributed to a co-worker, including one referring to her as a “sex doll,” according to a Dec. 31 hearing board opinion. (Image from Shutterstock)

Yujin Choi of Denver fabricated the texts in October 2022 to make it appear that the co-worker was harassing her and then “doubled down on that deceit” by intentionally altering evidence, according to the hearing board, which is part of the Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge.

Choi allegedly doctored cellphone records and repeatedly deleted the texts. She claimed that her cellphone stopped working when she accidentally dropped it in the bathtub and asserted that her laptop also broke when she accidentally spilled water on it.

“In our view, this narrative is not plausible,” the opinion said.

Choi “pursued a personal vendetta” against the co-worker, criminal investigator Dan Hines, “by launching an informal smear campaign” for reasons “that remain opaque to us,” the hearing board said.

The New York Times, Law360, the Denver Post and Ars Technica (via the Legal Profession Blog) have coverage.

Choi, who was admitted to practice in May 2019, can appeal the decision. She was a deputy district attorney in the Denver district attorney’s family violence unit before she was fired for the alleged misconduct.

Choi sent the four texts to herself, changing the name in her cellphone to make it appear the co-worker was the sender, the hearing board concluded. It was the second time that she had accused Hines.

The first time, in 2021, Choi claimed that Hines had made an inappropriate remark in June 2021, and that he later sent a text that she considered to be harassing. An investigation was closed as unsubstantiated. Hines was nonetheless transferred within the office and told to avoid contact with Choi.

The texts at issue in the ethics opinion surfaced in October 2022. Choi was at a bar with friends when she showed them a text. It read: “Yujin, please stop talking about what I didn’t do to our colleagues. You are using your looks against innocent people. If you want to act like a sex doll to get a sugar daddy … fine, but that will not be me.”

Choi claimed that there were three more texts, all from Hines. They read, “Don’t be stupid,” “Let’s talk,” and “I’m sorry, hope you have a nice weekend.”

By disseminating the texts to co-workers and supervisors, Choi “perpetrated a false and harmful narrative that Hines had sexually harassed her by sending her these messages,” the opinion said.

Choi said she didn’t want the matter investigated, but her supervisors felt a duty to do so and required cooperation. When Hines was confronted with the texts, he logged in to his Verizon account to provide cellphone records and offered his iPhone for investigation. There was no indication that Hines sent the texts, the hearing board said.

Official records obtained directly from Verizon indicated that Choi sent and received the fourth text message in the Hines text thread at the time that she claimed to have received it, leading the hearing board to conclude that she also sent the first three messages. The first text displayed a time stamp indicating that it was sent more than 40 minutes after Choi texted a supervisor about it.

The damage included harm to Hines’ reputation and betrayal of co-workers who advocated for her during the investigation, the decision said.

Choi “poisoned the morale of the DA’s office, contributing to an environment in which victims feared they might be disbelieved and others feared they might be wrongly accused,” the hearing board said. “Further, her actions called into question whether the evidence in the criminal cases she prosecuted was genuine,” tarnished the reputation of prosecutors, and potentially undermined the credibility of sexual harassment victims.

A counselor had diagnosed Choi with post-traumatic stress disorder and vicarious trauma caused by Choi’s emotionally taxing work in the family violence unit. Her lawyers did not immediately respond to ABA Journal emails seeking comment.

Hines told the Denver Post that he “wouldn’t wish this upon anybody,” and he was “living in hell” after Choi’s first accusation. He has sued the Denver district attorney over the handling of the investigation.

The district attorney’s office later determined that Choi’s casework was in “excellent order” with no evidence of fabrication, a spokesperson told the New York Times. The office also thinks that the investigation was properly handled, the spokesperson said.

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Man who vanished from blood-soaked home found dead in woods

homesafetytechpros — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 03:30:45 +0000

Insets, from left: Stephen Walker and his alleged killer Johnny Rankin Morris (El Paso County Sheriff’s Office/Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department). Background: The sober living home where Stephen Walker and Johnny Rankin Morris were living together (KOAA/YouTube).

The body of a man who disappeared from a Colorado sober living home last month — with cops finding large amounts of blood strewn throughout the residence, sparking a search for him and another man who lived there — was found in a “wooded area” on Friday, prompting cops to charge the housemate with murder after he was caught on the run with a woman in Mississippi.

Johnny Rankin Morris, 46, has not only been charged with Stephen Walker’s murder in El Paso County but also a killing in Park County as well, according to local police officials. He was caught by cops in Pearl River County, Mississippi, on Dec. 30 for an unrelated crime and is now awaiting extradition on charges of first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence following the discovery of Walker’s remains.

Walker, 37, was reported missing by his family on Dec. 19, while Morris and an alleged acquaintance, Hailey Cole, also disappeared but were reported as “armed and dangerous” fugitives.

“From the onset of the missing person case on December 19, 2024, our investigative efforts have been ongoing and relentless, with cooperation and teamwork across numerous agencies,” the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office said in a Jan. 3 press release. “During the investigation, information was developed which led investigators to a wooded location outside of El Paso County, where a deceased adult male was located. The body of the deceased individual was recovered and has since been positively identified as our missing person, 37-year-old Stephen Walker.”

On Dec. 19, deputies in El Paso County said they got a call that Thursday night to go to a home in the 1800 block of Pima Drive in the Cimarron Hills area. “While on scene, deputies observed large quantities of blood in multiple locations throughout the residence,” according to the sheriff’s office. Morris and Cole, 43, were reported as being “armed and dangerous.” Walker was said to be “missing under suspicious circumstances,” but only as a missing person.

“He doesn’t bother anybody,” Walker’s cousin, Leona Neely, told local CBS affiliate KKTV. “He really doesn’t. He’s a good person. I don’t see anybody wanting to hurt him.”

Walker’s family told KRDO that the home in the Dec. 19 incident was a sober-living home where he and Morris both lived. It’s unclear how Cole was connected to Morris.

Authorities in Park County got involved after being asked to perform a welfare check on a home at the 1500 block of Campfire Road. Timmy L. Huston, 65, was reportedly found dead inside, with Morris being charged with his and Walker’s murders after deputies found Walker’s car less than two miles away from Huston’s home while investigators were probing Hutson’s death.

Morris and Cole are both facing charges of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated motor vehicle theft, tampering with evidence of felony crime and conspiracy. Morris is being held without bond.

Alberto Luperon contributed to this report.

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Our favorite Instagram posts from 2024

homesafetytechpros — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 12:17:50 +0000

Year in Review

Our favorite Instagram posts from 2024

By Jackson A. Thomas

December 23, 2024, 10:34 am CST

Image from Shutterstock.

It’s been another riveting year in the legal industry and for our coverage at the ABA Journal. And like clockwork, 2025 will be here before we know it.

Over the last year, we’ve featured on our Instagram page myriad photos and videos.

Check out some of our favorite Instagram posts from 2024 below, and we hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

1. Swift justice

2. Checkmate for BigLaw associate

3. Lawyer writes children’s book

4. California teen passes bar exam

5. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Broadway

6. Smiles all around

7. Spotlight on ABA’s president-elect

8. 2024 end-of-year office holiday party

9. Horse-loving lawyer runs Colorado ranch

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Horse-loving lawyer left the law to help run a Colorado ranch

homesafetytechpros — Sun, 22 Dec 2024 11:02:18 +0000

The Modern Law Library

Horse-loving lawyer left the law to help run a Colorado ranch

By Lee Rawles

December 4, 2024, 4:00 pm CST

Once an East Coast lawyer, Ami Cullen is now the director of equestrian operations at the C Lazy U Ranch in Granby, Colorado.

Ami Cullen grew up loving horses and competing in hunter/jumper events. But when it came to her career, she decided that law would be her calling. She graduated from law school and began work with a law firm in Maryland working on medical-malpractice cases. Then a visit to a Colorado dude ranch changed everything.

In Running Free: An Incredible Story of Love, Survival, and How 200 Horses Trapped in a Wildfire Helped One Woman Find Her Soul Cullen shares a lightly fictionalized version of the journey that she’s been on for more than a decade.

Just as Cullen once did, Running Free’s main character Emme Muller visits the C Lazy U Ranch in Granby, Colorado, on a girl’s trip and falls in love with the wrangling way of life. She decides to leave her life as an East Coast lawyer to work at the ranch—initially planning it as a six-month sabbatical from her career.

Instead, she stays, eventually becoming head wrangler and marrying another employee at the dude ranch. But in October 2020, the East Troublesome Fire, the second-largest wildfire in Colorado history, imperiled the C Lazy U Ranch. Muller has to work with her employees and horse-loving community members to evacuate the ranch and save 200 horses from a relentless and rapidly shifting fire.

That part of Running Free is also true, Cullen tells the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles in this episode of The Modern Law Library podcast. Now the director of equestrian operations at the C Lazy U Ranch, it was Cullen’s responsibility to save the herd of horses through two harrowing wildfire evacuations and an ice storm that sent fleeing horse trailers careening off the roads back in 2020.

After the fire was out and recovery had begun, Cullen felt a compulsion to put down her experience in writing. The first attempt produced 80 pages that read like a legal brief, she tells Rawles. By fictionalizing her experiences and creating some composite characters, she was able to write Running Free, her first novel.

In this episode, Cullen discusses deciding to leave the law, what it’s like to help run a dude ranch, leadership skills that she learned from working with horses, and why you’re never too old to take up equestrianship.

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In This Podcast:

Ami Cullen

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Ami Cullen

Ami Cullen hails from Chester County, Pennsylvania, where her love for horses first blossomed. Growing up, she competed in the hunter/jumper discipline at the national level. After earning her law degree from the Catholic University School of Law in Washington, D.C., Cullen practiced medical-malpractice defense law at a law firm in Bethesda, Maryland. However, it was during a vacation at the C Lazy U Ranch that she discovered her true passion: ranch life and taking care of horses. Currently, Cullen is the director of equestrian operations and oversees all aspects of the C Lazy U Ranch’s Equine Program. Certified as a horsemanship association instructor in English and Western disciplines, Cullen delights in connecting people with horses and teaching novice equestrians horsemanship.

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