[{"_1":2,"_112":-5,"_113":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88,100],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6385674,"mediaKeyId","2119394-b94c398411fb2ae06fdfc577664e6ad8","parentId",2119394,"title","State Public Defender: workload study requested and CBI DNA problems could affect hundreds–thousands of cases","audioSeconds",2482,"startMs",11733550,"endMs",14216160,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2119394-b94c398411fb2ae06fdfc577664e6ad8&start=11733&end=14216","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2119394-b94c398411fb2ae06fdfc577664e6ad8/thumbnail_11733550.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6385674/Colorado/State-Public-Defender-workload-study-requested-and-CBI-DNA-problems-could-affect-hundredsthousands-of-cases","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6385674-bb42422fecd01ac3755dc04a05aae471/orig.mp4?Expires=1771198273&Signature=j1NAPUjoK000elYlZp6aveTFwdZmSvL-gxCyzCD4tD~KP9scb9fk3-Vhsde-Vs~XuMQ~otc6MgKHKgNhnnkIQA~u8O2-4IWhabYkt3H55E1cWCYpY9mQkAKbjcbLxXi39puCGw01soEyiZwb6dzp71qexfu97uy2aG6d-2LWfutmwJWDF8WBUq~VmFJRZQ3MJV9aFoO0U~orut1VFZWJaVbqxQxyjPatzt~fCSMFcfzdNE9JQNqzvxv699lVlp2zTJjNQpFOwqpbLNn1Jc4PLEvKE3mVEZ9fumlcSRWU2dZRDR1UedusL-mzEbGaiCxXus5KQxKgl4W1x75ncNVP2g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Joint Judiciary","date","2025-01-13T00:00:00Z","article","State Public Defender Megan Ring told the Joint Judiciary Committee on Jan. 13 that her office is under heavy workload pressure, has already received partial staffing increases, and needs a formal workload study to ground future staffing requests. She also described a developing forensic‑lab problem at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation that may affect many convictions and will require an organized post‑conviction response.

Ring said the public defender office received 50 additional attorney positions in the last year but had requested 70, and that auditors told the office it should update workload data (a recommendation Ring and staff support). She described a set of operational measures the office has used — adding paralegals, creating an internal case‑management tool called DefenderFile, and other efficiencies — but stressed that the main pressure is the raw volume and complexity of cases, not discretionary programming the office could cut.

On the CBI matter, Ring and legislative policy director James Karbach said the bureau reported an initial estimate of roughly 1,000 cases with anomalies linked to an analyst and that up to 10,000 case files may have been touched by the analyst’s work over many years. Ring said the office learned of the problem through public reporting and CBI testimony and has used open‑records requests and outreach to district attorneys to identify affected cases; she said CBI has indicated restrictions on what it can share directly because of accreditation and contract issues. Ring said the office needs a multi‑year spending authority or targeted funding to staff and litigate post‑conviction claims promptly and avoid procedural time‑bar issues for eligible defendants.

Why it matters: If large numbers of convictions are implicated, the public defender office said it must act quickly to preserve defendants’ rights; delayed relief could be barred under post‑conviction time limits. Committee members asked about notification procedures, data sharing from CBI and a legislative framework to coordinate prosecutors, defense counsel and courts.

What’s next: OSPD requested a workload study as recommended by auditors, sought flexible spending authority to address CBI‑related post‑conviction screening and representation, and offered to participate with CBI and DA offices on procedures for effectively identifying and resolving affected cases.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Joint Judiciary [Jan 13, 2025]","oneSentenceSummary","State Public Defender Megan Ring told lawmakers the office needs an updated workload study and may need a multi‑year funding response to handle cases affected by anomalies at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation laboratory.","taxTitle","Judiciary, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative, Colorado","taxId",43317,"location","Colorado","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6385686,"Judiciary asks lawmakers for 29 judgeships, new courtroom technology and a case‑management overhaul",5697,101755,5798900,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2119394-b94c398411fb2ae06fdfc577664e6ad8&start=101&end=5798","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2119394-b94c398411fb2ae06fdfc577664e6ad8/thumbnail_101755.jpg","/articles/6385686/Colorado/Judiciary-asks-lawmakers-for-29-judgeships-new-courtroom-technology-and-a-casemanagement-overhaul","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6385686-e1af21c0d80c03964934536f2d42beb2/orig.mp4?Expires=1771198273&Signature=TPi3otoabx3QINuoPIevY9s8wq39UYYcCscTB45kPuZt5D0ngNzGweM-5IZBtACqMTutn2J4ykyK2pA0pkr00-j2VHhiVNh97bHRHJVYIMbE4O0zd7DVeBHMBX61yOxVeqwRlt9JwqayCZQOizVl4JyGSuPZGzZblrEDCEn4wvdQxjcWrJG1W9XdAY5iH7FKwl4HI4a0YLuFf8t-gluMTLd2ZzgXLbQ2RWMVni6x3dQ7w91~CgVdXFZ~sr-lEySOzzMOyXdNGRCf-hnd~2whi-shUIa4G2~JIQd3evEkA1IPB3iyptkyZHI~GBbdxSpP8aWfpksJS-b69BRvphQliA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chief Justice Monica Marquez and State Court Administrator Stephen Vasconcelos told the Joint Judiciary Committee on Jan. 13 that the judicial branch needs new judges, technology and probation staffing to keep pace with caseloads and security needs.

The department asked the General Assembly to approve Senate Bill 25 0 2 4, a two‑year plan to add 29 judges statewide (18 in year one and 11 in year two as introduced), and said it has adjusted the cost estimate for the first year downward from an earlier figure near $13 million to about $9.3 million after correcting personnel assumptions and phasing some furnishing/AV costs with counties.

Vasconcelos said the request is based on updated workload modeling that used time‑and‑motion studies of judicial activities and reflected operational changes since the pandemic. He said the single largest immediate need identified by the department is an additional county court judge in Durango where current filings generate roughly two judges’ worth of work.

The department outlined related budget priorities:

- Virtual courtroom platform: Chief Justice Marquez described a wave of “courtroom disruptor” incidents in virtual hearings — hijacked sessions with abusive audio and pornographic videos — and said the branch requested just under $3 million in cash‑fund spending authority to procure a specialized vendor platform with role‑based access, integrated statutory livestream and record functions, and tighter controls than off‑the‑shelf business meeting tools such as WebEx.

- Case management replacement: Vasconcelos said Colorado’s statewide case management system dates to the late 1980s, is written in RPG, and must be retired. The department closed an RFP for an off‑the‑shelf system customized for Colorado; full statewide launch is not expected until around 2028. To reduce immediate budget pressure, the department supports a one‑year extension of project timelines and funding.

- Probation workload tied to Aurora municipal changes: The department expects roughly 850 additional domestic‑violence probation cases after Aurora stopped prosecuting some offenses in municipal court, primarily affecting Adams and Arapahoe counties; Vasconcelos said the branch requests roughly $2.9 million to fund about two dozen probation staff to manage those cases.

- Security and district support: Marquez said two recently authorized judicial security positions will soon be filled to give on‑the‑ground coverage in Southern Colorado/the Western Slope and Northern Colorado/Eastern Plains; the branch is seeking legislation to extend POST‑certification authority beyond July 2025 for those positions.

Other items Marquez and Vasconcellos described included the March‑April rollout of a revamped Chief Justice Directive to clarify chief judges’ roles and new branch‑wide well‑being initiatives for staff, and the implementation steps for the newly created 23rd Judicial District, which goes live the day after the hearing but will need a final clarifying measure related to a district judicial performance commission.

Why it matters: Committee members pressed the department on cost containment and operational details, noting state budget pressure. The requests map to three persistent problems the department said it cannot control directly: statutory caseload inflows, rising complexity of cases (more virtual proceedings, greater discovery volumes), and local courthouse readiness for new judgeship placements.

What’s next: Committee members signaled follow‑up questions; the department provided a mix of statutory and operational clarifications and asked the JBC to consider phased funding and one‑time cash authority for technology procurement.

","Chief Justice Monica Marquez and State Court Administrator Stephen Vasconcellos told the Joint Judiciary Committee on Jan. 13 that the judicial branch needs new judges, technology and probation staffing to keep pace with caseloads and security needs.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6385677,"Alternate Defense Counsel warns of exploding discovery volumes, rising case costs and seeks funding",1784,9288195,11072920,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2119394-b94c398411fb2ae06fdfc577664e6ad8&start=9288&end=11072","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2119394-b94c398411fb2ae06fdfc577664e6ad8/thumbnail_9288195.jpg","/articles/6385677/Colorado/Alternate-Defense-Counsel-warns-of-exploding-discovery-volumes-rising-case-costs-and-seeks-funding","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6385677-422207fd3d206876a2dd88ce14e99a8b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771198273&Signature=cZJKxgyYrk7UvRL1A12Bd9bo9f6C~T86GffUzyvjZy7p3gyAVMMwyLVuE9yGQpKu6iOymaGdLLtFoA89Mh7NTl4CH04kT0mhR~5Gv39ck3w-28QiC6bJAs1Aw~Yh7fQBhaG6U-CC7c-HE55e6ySKnpi8tx4lVyKzkmdsPElxxHbjJWK7gwj4gr-srSKCr2z2D1mdfNJda--upcXsnP8xQ8BsMtxXWjM6mqLj2zIqTxxFsSS4~0Os9-vuKlxGlckTNrLMG9pMQTzfC4Lq5-kM0FrkOQwrEMeHwHiY1z5pnUw6k7SxBD3hkVpi11DBe5Ycz8nQNaFIrE10VBP3Ye67Eg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Lindy Froelich, director of the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel, told the committee that providing constitutionally required defense services for conflicted cases is increasingly expensive and operationally strained because discovery volumes and case complexity have ballooned.

Froelich described a recent example in which a 17‑defendant organized‑crime indictment produced thousands of pages of material and multiple bilingual counsel needs; she said it illustrates why ADC must pay outside contractors and interpreters and why the agency’s conflict budget (which pays contractors, court reporters and experts) consumes most of its funds. ADC’s budget structure, Froelich said, has a relatively small internal staff footprint and most funds pay outside service providers.

ADC staff and deputies added that discovery now often includes terabytes of phone‑tower data, audio, and video. Froelich said the agency’s case costs have risen for years; she also noted that ADC routinely returns (reverts) unspent funds and has returned tens of millions of dollars in prior years when caseloads fell. The office is piloting workforce and fellowship approaches to recruit more contractors and to train lawyers for specialized work, including youth defense.

Erin Campbell, ADC’s evaluation and training coordinator, summarized competency‑related training ADC provides for contractor teams since the 2019 statutory reforms: ADC has run a multi‑site “roadshow” (in‑person and recorded training), maintains on‑demand modules, and offers advanced training on civil mental‑health systems and ethical issues when representing clients with mental illness.

Why it matters: ADC handles conflicts statewide and is the fallback for cases public defenders cannot take. The agency argued that rising discovery volume, more complex evidence and a shortage of experienced contractors raise average cost per case and could reduce access to timely representation if funding is not adjusted.

What’s next: ADC asked the committee to consider budget options it proposed. Members said they will follow up on the agency’s data about costs and contractor capacity, and asked ADC to provide more detailed fiscal breakdowns.

","The Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel told the committee that modern criminal discovery — terabytes of phone, video and other data — has dramatically increased case costs and contractor workload. ADC asked for additional funding to cover rising contractor and case costs and described statewide contractor shortages for large multi‑defendant,",{"_33":101,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":102,"_41":103,"_43":104,"_45":105,"_47":106,"_49":107,"_51":108,"_53":109,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":110,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":111,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6385681,"Judicial Discipline Commission implements Amendment H, resolves large set of financial‑disclosure cases",963,6203465,7166505,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2119394-b94c398411fb2ae06fdfc577664e6ad8&start=6203&end=7166","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2119394-b94c398411fb2ae06fdfc577664e6ad8/thumbnail_6203465.jpg","/articles/6385681/Colorado/Judicial-Discipline-Commission-implements-Amendment-H-resolves-large-set-of-financialdisclosure-cases","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6385681-c526cf3efee68b19810e18dadece12a9/orig.mp4?Expires=1771198273&Signature=Ctqa-~GgHwnvJ-SHjbtIQRLDdPKFWG~zOAodHQCBhbw69dFa1cl4XR4Gjlb1zMYtwPyhKytB1euDA8PHMd2OG-Y7LE61NLN0N8GthpTsZ8ckqyXV8LQeM9brNqQjGJ5nBMeDOlfEX1d3X~tgCSQZNDMYrLs8LqUekCA-ngVLBJLsk~-HA-zn4X96DiXMjh1m6YJY1UZ9tJ8L73yT2kaVmo93KFA~POS-rcMEkGzGwhyneNg~PkWtv8QAqLt1myKg0k9Snqr1jxjaRpDCYAS5a6ZYzFaq6PgKJaHl~KFGb8MrsjzYTQC54diWTfgBE2oSo~yJj3Ps70zPIGRMPvbwiQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Commission on Judicial Discipline reported to the Joint Judiciary Committee on Jan. 13 that it is implementing changes required by Amendment H (voter‑approved changes to the judicial‑discipline process) and has resolved a heavy caseload of disclosure matters from 2024.

Director Anne Mangiardi and Commissioner Jim Carpenter said the commission has expanded its staff to five full‑time positions (adding a paralegal and a full‑time investigator), has completed the handling of a large group of personal financial disclosure (PFD) matters that drew public attention last year, and is preparing rules and procedures required under Amendment H.

Mangiardi said requests for evaluation (RFEs) have increased steadily in recent years; the office received a “record number” of RFEs in 2024 and noted several causes including greater public awareness, a viral news cycle item that produced a spike in complaints, and a 2022 statutory change making judges mandatory reporters (which led to more internal referrals to the commission).

On the PFD matters, the commission said it completed resolution of the related cases in 2024 and that, in the subset of PFD matters they reviewed, many were resolved with non‑public or educational outcomes. Mangiardi said the commission found no evidence that judges failed to report material financial information in the cases reviewed; decisions about discipline were made proportionally after considering irregularities in Secretary of State records and individual circumstances.

Carpenter and Mangiardi said education is a core part of the commission’s work: the commission plans to expand public‑facing materials, improve online filing for RFEs and produce education and guidance for judges and the public about the new process under Amendment H. They told the committee the commission values cooperation with the judicial branch and has worked closely with judicial leadership during the transition.

Why it matters: The commission’s implementation of Amendment H alters the procedural structure of adjudicating complaints against judges and adds a public‑facing element intended to balance confidentiality and transparency. Committee members asked about timing for rulemaking and how the commission will report trends without identifying cases or individuals.

What’s next: The commission will continue rulemaking and aims to provide clearer public education resources and streamlined online complaint filing. Commissioners said they expect to begin formal proceedings under the new structure when cases arise that require that forum.

","The Commission on Judicial Discipline told the Joint Judiciary Committee it has staffed up, is implementing voter‑approved Amendment H, and resolved a large number of personal financial disclosure matters in 2024. The commission reported a sharp rise in requests for evaluation (RFEs) and emphasized education as part of its mission.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

State Public Defender: workload study requested and CBI DNA problems could affect hundreds–thousands of cases

Judiciary asks lawmakers for 29 judgeships, new courtroom technology and a case‑management overhaul

Alternate Defense Counsel warns of exploding discovery volumes, rising case costs and seeks funding

Judicial Discipline Commission implements Amendment H, resolves large set of financial‑disclosure cases