Richard B. Collins
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Constitutional Law; Indian Law; Property
401 UCB
2450 Kittredge Loop Drive
Wolf Law Building
Boulder, CO 80309-0401
Office: 400B
Phone: (303) 492-5493
E-mail: richard.collins@colorado.edu
Curriculum Vitae: View (PDF format)
| Educational Background: | |||
| LL.B. | Harvard Law School | 1966 | |
| B.A. | Yale University | 1960 | |
Richard Collins spent 15 years practicing Indian law with organizations such as California Rural Legal Assistance, California Indian Legal Services, Dinebeiina Nahiilna Be Agaditahe in Window Rock, Arizona, and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF). Since joining the faculty, Professor Collins has continued work as a pro bono consultant to NARF and to Native American tribes, including the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. During the course of his appellate work, he has had a major role in several important Indian law decisions, including United States Supreme Court decisions such as McClanahan v. Arizona Tax Commission, 421 U.S. 164 (1973). His scholarship also focuses on constitutional issues, and he was Director of the law school's Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law from 2002 to 2010. Professor Collins has written and lectured on such topics as the religion clauses and their relationship to Indian Tribes, the Commerce Clause, and ballot initiatives and referendums. His recent research projects include a treatise on the Colorado Constitution, written with Dale Oesterle, an article on sacred sites on government lands in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, the current revision of Felix Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law, and an article in the Colorado Law Review on lawmaking by citizens' initiatives.
Published Books
| Collins (with Oesterle), The Colorado State Constitution with Historical and Interpretive Commentary, (2002). |
| Collins (with others), Felix S. Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law, (1982). |
Articles
| Propaganda for War and Transparency, 87 Denv. U. L. Rev. 819 (2010) (Symposium: Government Speech).. |
| Affirmative Action in American Constitutional Law, translated into Chinese by Xu Tieying and published in the Chinese language journal, VII Roman Law and Modern Civil Law 367 (Xu Guodong ed., 2010).. |
| Telluride's Tale of Eminent Domain, Home Rule, and Retroactivity, 86 Den. U. L. Rev. 1433 (symposium). (2009). |
| The Colorado Constitution in the New Century, 78 U. Colo. L. Rev. 1265 (2007). |
| A Brief History of the U.S.-American Indian Nations Relationship, Hum. Rts., Spring 2006, at 3 (2006). |
| Collins (with Karla D. Miller), A People Without Law, 5 Indigenous L.J. 83 (2006). |
| Sacred Sites and Religious Freedom on Government Land, 5 U. Penn. J. Const. L. 241 (2003). |
| Western Justice, 112 Yale L.J. 975 (a tribute to Justice White) (2003). |
| How Democratic Are Initiatives?, 72 U. Colo. L. Rev. 983 (2001). |
Book Reviews
| Book Review, 50 Am. J. Legal Hist. 105 (Jan. 2008-2010), (reviewing David J. Bederman, The Classical Foundations of the American Constitution: Prevailing Wisdom (2008)). |
| 38(11) Colo. Law. 101 (Nov. 2009), (reviewing American Indian Law Deskbook, 4th ed.) (2008). |
| Book Review, 39(2) W. Hist. Q. 218 (reviewing Tribal Water Rights: Essays in Contemporary Law, Policy, and Economics (John E. Thorson, Sarah Britton & Bonnie G. Colby eds., 2006) (2008). |
Selected Press, Media & Publicity
| Longmont fracking ban appeal at Supreme Court crossroads | Times-Call | Tuesday, August 18, 2015 |
| Mondale, Emmer, Swanson Join Leading Midwest Jurists in Minneapolis for LSC Board Meeting Events | Legal Services Corporation | Tuesday, July 14, 2015 |
| DOJ Can Still Pursue MMJ Prosecution | Law Week Colorado | Monday, April 20, 2015 |
| Boulder Pushes Forward With Condemnation Without PUC Ruling | The Boulder Daily Camera.com | Thursday, July 17, 2014 |
| Michigan Can't Sue Tribe Over Casino Built Off Reservation; Tribe Is Immune | BNA United States Law Week | Tuesday, May 27, 2014 |
Courses:
| Fall 2021 | American Indian Law I | LAWS 7725-801 |
| Fall 2020 | Local Government | LAWS 7255-801 |
| Fall 2020 | American Indian Law I | LAWS 7725-801 |
| Spring 2020 | Constitutional Law | LAWS 6005-801 |
| Spring 2020 | The Regulation of Marijuana | LAWS 7718-801 |
| Fall 2018 | Local Government | LAWS 7255-801 |
| Fall 2018 | American Indian Law I | LAWS 7725-801 |
| Fall 2018 | American Indian Law I | LAWS 7725-902 |
| Spring 2018 | Property | LAWS 5624-804 |
| Spring 2018 | The Regulation of Marijuana | LAWS 7718-001 |
| Spring 2018 | The Regulation of Marijuana | LAWS 7718-902 |
| Spring 2017 | Constitutional Law | LAWS 6005-801 |
| Spring 2017 | The Regulation of Marijuana | LAWS 7718-001 |
| Fall 2016 | Local Government | LAWS 7255-001 |
| Fall 2016 | American Indian Law I | LAWS 7725-001 |
| Spring 2016 | Property | LAWS 5624-804 |
| Spring 2016 | American Indian Law II | LAWS 7735-001 |
| Fall 2015 | The Regulation of Marijuana | LAWS 7718-001 |
| Spring 2015 | Constitutional Law | LAWS 6005-802 |
| Spring 2015 | Seminar: Advanced Topics in American Indian Law | LAWS 8725-001 |
| Fall 2014 | Local Government | LAWS 7255-001 |
| Spring 2014 | Constitutional Law | LAWS 6005-803 |
| Fall 2013 | Law and Religion | LAWS 7085-001 |
| Fall 2013 | American Indian Law I | LAWS 7725-001 |
| Spring 2013 | Property | LAWS 5624-801 |
| Fall 2012 | Wills and Trusts | LAWS 6104-001 |
Our Vision
With our roots in Colorado and a global outlook, we are ...
a supportive and diverse educational and scholarly community in a place that inspires vigorous pursuit of ideas, critical analysis, contemplation, and civic engagement to advance knowledge about the law in an open, just society.
Our Mission
To be an outstanding public law school that: provides students with a state-of-the-art legal education and prepares them to serve wisely and with professionalism; advances the development of knowledge through scholarship, testing of new ideas, and challenges to the status quo; and serves as a vehicle and catalyst for meaningful public service, all of which deliver high value to our students and have positive impacts?both locally and globally?on the legal profession and society.