colorado court backlog
We want to make sure that these people who are waiting for their trials can get their trials heard, but we also want to make sure we have the resources to conduct the trials, McCann said. about your specific circumstances. The uncertainty is going to make the first quarter 2021 very interesting, and perhaps the first half of 2021. In 2020, the 10th Judicial District Court was able to hold some criminal trials, with Pueblo's Chief Judge Deborah Eyler ordering courtrooms to reopen on July 6, before shutting the courtrooms once more on Nov. 6 as COVID-19 case rates and attributed deaths mounted. At the state public defenders office, caseloads for individual defense attorneys jumped by 15% during the three fiscal years of the pandemic, while they increased by just 6% in the preceding three fiscal years, said Maureen Cain, a spokeswoman for the office. technology-enabled formats are starting to work and become more Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a serious delay in the court system. But that hasnt happened in Colorado. Benavidez says the courts have already found a way to address the backlog without legislative intervention and there are things like mediation, further negotiations, dismissal with the right to bring the case up again and plea bargains to help bring down the backlog instead of a bill. Its hard to bring jurors into this scenario. head of the Pueblo Public Defender Office, Trial begins in Pueblo for Monte Vista man accused of killing, dismembering mother. In a normal year, there are only 2,716 jury trials held. commercial litigationthat will be pushed further down the In order for the continuance to happen, the judge would need to find good cause for it and make known on the record that there is no courtroom available for the trial, no jury pool available and that a different judge cannot be used for the case. The majority of victims that we work with, what we typically hear is, Were used to delays, but wed like to know something thats predictable. Anecdotally, we do know it has had some impact, she said. Colorado's courts will face an unprecedented backlog of cases next year with reduced staff and resources because of budget cuts prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. Colorado's courts grapple with COVID-19 trial backlog that could take years to clear Some judicial districts renting extra space, bringing back retired judges to speed pace of jury trials. Dougherty said he was struck by how the delay impacted everyone involved in the case, from victims and witnesses to the defendant and the jury. We dont want to have people sitting in jail longer than they need to. Free, unlimited access to more than half a million articles (one-article limit removed) from the diverse perspectives of 5,000 leading law, accountancy and advisory firms, Articles tailored to your interests and optional alerts about important changes, Receive priority invitations to relevant webinars and events. Shed like to see prosecutors reduce the backlog by offering more favorable plea deals to defendants a power only prosecutors wield. system. And ultimately, everything is left up to the judges. is almost laughable how many trials have been reset to the first The other prong, of course, is whats going on with the courts, where its not really safe to do in-person court appearances, in-person evidentiary hearings, or in-person jury trials.. Were trying to avoid is a bunch of jury decisions being overturned on a technicality, he said. The Colorado Department of Human Services says it has cleared a backlog of inmates who had to wait months in some cases for court-ordered mental health evaluations and treatments. We have to recognize that we could put all the precautions in place, and theres still the possibility of people getting sick, said, , whose county held its first jury trial on Tuesday. "The goal was to provide ethical pleas, but if we could plea, we should," said 10th Judicial District Attorney Jeff Chostner. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and Twitter. Webex has been upgraded to show documents and it is working well. As litigators, we know it At the end of the day, it will be my sectorcomplex commercial litigationthat will be pushed further down the docket. Were digging out, but we still have a ways to go, said Brian Mason, district attorney for the 17th Judicial District, which covers Adams and Broomfield counties. Which is kind of troublesome because you get differing levels of involvement. Colorado court shutdowns during COVID-19 outbreak create a backlog of custody, domestic cases . These are the types of decisions people will start Water Courts Denver Juvenile Court Denver Probate Court. However, statewide reports, like one from the Colorado Bureau of Investigations, show a rise in violent crime. Not for the "stupid price" of $150 an acre foot. Throughout the pandemic, the courts have been introducing And as the world slowed, so slowed the judicial courts. preparing a witness for any hearing. Our staff and the courts and the judges around the state, theyre doing what they can to clear it. The nearly five-month delay has created a hefty backlog of criminal cases awaiting trial, which some worry could result in prosecutors dropping some because of Colorado's speedy trial mandate. District court decisions may be appealed to the Colorado Court of Appeals (in some cases directly to the Colorado Supreme Court). Other Courts. 1675 Broadway She is a trial instructor as well as a frequent writer and presenter on legal issues. The work has continued, its just slowed down, Sarche said. When you receive a jury summons, you have to be there by law. County Courts District Courts. House Bill 1309 would allow for a delay to the speedy trial process of up to three months for someone who is in pre-trial detention and up to six months for someone who is out on bond. Mesa County typically holds about 75 felony jury trials a year, he said, and last year conducted only one. opposing side and move the case to arbitration. Across Colorado, about 14,600 jury trials have stacked up during the pandemic more than five times the 2,700 jury trials the state's courts handle in a typical year and the massive. More: Pueblo West woman's dreams of owning a food truck come to fruition with Luke Dogs. During the five months that Pueblo's combined courts were closed in 2020, attorneys on both sides of criminal cases were asked by Eyler to try and reach plea deals or resolutions of cases outside of a court room. In order to help cut down on the backlog, Roberts and McCann say defendants are being offered plea deals that are lighter than would be given under normal circumstances in order to get cases out of the system. The nearly five-month delay has created a hefty backlog of criminal cases awaiting trial, which some worry could result in prosecutors dropping some because of Colorados speedy trial mandate. To help on the staffing side, state lawmakers are currently considering a bill that would make it easier for retired judges to return to the bench under the existing senior judge program. they have a speedy trial mandate that can't be violated. First up would be criminal cases because a speedy trial is constitutional. In a normal year, the office typically sees an excess of 100 to 200 felony cases when comparing newly-filed cases with resolved cases, he said. Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The system, to my knowledge, has never had to stop the way it has with this pandemic. From 2017 to 2019, the Colorado State Advisory Committee examined the causes and consequences of naturalization backlogs and their impact on voting rights, civil rights, and the Will any of them go? "It's a double whammy. "There are always more cases than can be tried, anda very large percentage of cases reach plea deals," he explained. So, this is very rare of them to do, which makes me think theres a serious problem, said Rep. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon, one of the bills primary sponsors and an assistant district attorney in Eagle County. There are just too many variables to get a real clear idea of how long its going to take to get through cases on the criminal docket statewide, he said, adding that cases that require a speedy trial will be bumped to the top of the list. Officials rented metal detectors for security and even a copy machine which could only be rented by the month, although it was needed for just two days. But one of those districts has already had to shut down again due to the virus. Or, similar to Appellate Courts. Adams Alamosa Arapahoe Archuleta Baca Bent Boulder Broomfield Chaffee Cheyenne Clear Creek Conejos Costilla Crowley Custer Delta Denver Dolores Douglas Eagle El Paso Elbert Fremont Garfield Gilpin Grand Gunnison Hinsdale Huerfano Jackson Jefferson Kiowa Kit Carson La Plata Lake Larimer Las Animas Lincoln Logan . guide to the subject matter. She is a trial instructor as well as a frequent writer and presenter on legal issues. are now outfitted with COVID-related precautions such as glass in In Denver District Court, there are about 447 criminal jury trials set in the next six months, and 344 of those are scheduled for April, May or June. Having jurors isn't until litigants are on the cusp of a trial that they Emily Tofte Nestaval, executive director of the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Victim Law Center, described the number of criminal cases in the backlog as a tidal wave barreling towards Colorados criminal justice system. Shes been a reporter since 2012, focused on criminal justice. County Courts handle civil cases under $25,000, misdemeanors, traffic . In the much busier 18th Judicial District, which includes Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, District Attorney John Kellner estimated itll take a year or two to work through the backed-up cases. As the world waited for a vaccine, jury trials were put on pause and thousands of defendants and victims were forced to wait to have their day in court. Instead, Colorado statute specifies that a speedy trial means six months. While the Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to a speedy trial, Colorado law defines "speedy" as the government bringing a criminal defendant to trial within six months of pleading not guilty. with the technology, and are becoming so familiar with the problem, Prosecutors are prioritizing cases involving violent crimes or serious felonies, he said, as well as cases that have been pending for a long time. Technology issues add a layer of Benavidez at least wants the defendants to have a voice in the continuance process if the bill passes. For Cooley, her concern, along with the backlog of cases courts . In 4 years, Lori Lightfoot went from breakout political star to divisive mayor of a Chicago beset by pandemic and crime, Florida lawmakers to consider expansion of so-called dont say gay law, Drone crashes at Disneyland after hovering over visitors heads See video, Rapper Travis Scott wanted for assaulting Manhattan club sound engineer, destroying $12K in equipment, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. including evidentiary hearings. Vote in our annual food bracket challenge. Not for the "stupid price" of $150 an acre foot. 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