Colorado State Flag
Good news today from Denver, Co. where the House Judiciary Committee has passed a bill to scale back the discretion that can be used by district attorneys. The vote was 9-2.
The news is hardly shocking considering it comes in the wake of a report condemning Colorado’s “Direct File” system. Direct File allows district attorneys to prosecute offenders between the ages of 14-17 in adult court without a judicial hearing on the issue The report stated that it is “grossly overused” and that it does nothing to protect teenagers with no prior offenses or experience in the juvenile system. (The report also shows a massively disproportionate effect on teenagers of color and 95% of the cases go to plea bargaining rather than a judge.)
Eli Stokois reports for KWGN:
House Bill 1271, sponsored by Rep. B.J. Nikkel, R-Loveland, and Rep. Beth McCann, D-Denver, would limit the range of crimes that can be direct filed into adult court to the most serious violent offenses, like murder and rape.
‘This bill will put the ability to charge a youth as an adult back in the hands of neutral judges,’ Nikkel said.
Colorado is one of just four states where prosecutors, who generally oppose H.B. 1271, have the discretion to file juvenile cases directly into the adult criminal system.
Any time a youth faces the possibility of being tried in adult court the decision should be one made by the judge, not by attorneys who might have a vested interest in the results.
While it does not roll back direct filing entirely, it does tighten the limits significantly. All in all it seems like Colorado has taken one step forward!
