H. TED RUBIN PAPERS

H. Ted Rubin was born January 18, 1926 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The son of an optometrist, Rubin graduated in 1943 from Harrisburg's William Penn High School. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Navy. After the war, he attended Pennsylvania State University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1948. Rubin received a Master's degree in Social Service Administration in 1950 from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio where he worked in Children's Service as a social worker. While working at the Illinois Children's Home and Aid Society, Rubin earned a law degree from Chicago's DePaul University in 1956. He moved to Colorado and worked in the Children's Psychiatric Clinic at the University of Colorado Medical Center until he passed the bar exam in 1956.

Rubin practiced law from 1957 to 1965. He was elected to the Colorado State House of Representatives in 1960 where he served two terms. In 1964, the Colorado Legislature, in response to increasing caseloads, created an additional judgeship and Rubin was elected Denver Court Juvenile Justice to serve alongside Judge Philip B. Gilliam, who had served as the sole Denver Court Juvenile Justice from 1940 until 1964. In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that juvenile proceedings should require the same due process of law as adult proceedings. Rubin worked with Colorado legislators to create the Colorado Children's Code. Enacted in 1967, the state’s first such Code became regarded as one of the most progressive in the nation.

As a judge, Rubin instituted programs designed to afford a wider range of treatment alternatives for children. He started two juvenile halfway houses in Denver's Capitol Hill; instituted work-release programs; managed a U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare grant to study glue-sniffing in juveniles; and began a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) program for Denver that worked with the Court's probation staff. Rubin also persuaded the Colorado Outward Bound School to begin a rehabilitation program aimed at urban youth charged with crimes.

Segments of the Denver community complained that Rubin was not "tough enough" on crime. Police, school officials and the Rocky Mountain News mounted a campaign to remove him from office. In 1970, Denver citizens voted not to retain him in his position as Denver Juvenile Court Judge.

In 1971, a newly formed national entity focused upon court improvement, the Institute for Court Management, headquartered in Denver, hired Rubin as juvenile justice director. From 1971 until mid-1992, he conducted national workshops and studies of juvenile justice agencies. In 1990, he was honored with the Award of Excellence of the National Center for State Courts.

During his career, Rubin authored more than 300 articles and research reports on juvenile justice and corrections, as well as six books dealing with juvenile justice policy. He also taught classes as a visiting professor in Colorado and elsewhere.

Rubin married Bunny Rosenthal of Scranton, Pennsylvania. They have a daughter, Marjorie, and a son, Steven. Their son Jefferson passed away in 1995. During his tenures as Colorado legislator and judge, they resided in the Park Hill neighborhood of Denver. In 1991 they moved to Boulder, Colorado, where, as of 2013, they continue to reside.