Date: 04/13/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1321

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment D). Th
Adopt prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment E). Th
Adopt prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment F). Th
Adopt prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment G). Th
Refer House Bill 09-1321, as amended, to the Commi
Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
Pass Without Objection
PASS
PASS



01:50 PM -- House Bill 09-1321

Representative Levy, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1321 concerning the placement of a juvenile who is awaiting trial in district court. The bill requires a court order before a juvenile charged as an adult may be detained in an adult detention facility. The court must find, after a hearing, that it is in the interest of justice to hold the juvenile in an adult facility, pending a criminal trial. The bill outlines the criteria that must be considered by the court in making such a determination. The hearing on the placement of a juvenile must be held within 30 days of the juvenile being formally charged as an adult.

The bill allows the district attorney or the Division of Youth Corrections (DYC) in the Department of Human Services to petition the court in order to have a juvenile who is charged as an adult moved from a juvenile detention facility to an adult facility when the juvenile presents an imminent danger to other juveniles or staff at the detention facility. The juvenile defendant may petition the court to be moved from an adult facility to a juvenile facility if there is a substantial change of circumstances that would affect the court's determination.

Representative Levy distributed a report from the Colorado Juvenile Defender Coalition (Attachment B) and a packet of information in support of the bill (Attachment C). She discussed the information contained in the packet. She also distributed prepared amendments L.001 through L.004 (Attachments D-G). She provided statistics about suicides by juveniles held in adult jail facilities. The DYC has a detention bed cap of 479. Prepared amendment L.002 would remove juveniles charged with a class 1 felony from the hearing requirements. The committee discussed the fiscal note. Prepared amendment L.004 imposes a surcharge of $1.50 on every criminal action resulting in a conviction or a in a deferred judgement and sentence for a felony, misdemeanor, or misdemeanor traffic offense.

09HouseJud0413AttachB.pdf 09HouseJud0413AttachC.pdf

09HouseJud0413AttachD.pdf 09HouseJud0413AttachE.pdf

09HouseJud0413AttachF.pdf 09HouseJud0413AttachG.pdf


02:06 PM --
Maureen Cain, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Cain talked about juvenile direct file, which allows a juvenile 14 years of age or older to be tried and sentenced as an adult. A bill that addressed the issue was vetoed by the Governor in 2008. Ms. Cain participated in an interim study group about the direct file issue. She provided statistical information about direct file cases in Colorado in 2007 and 2008. She discussed the process of releasing certain low-risk juveniles if the DYC reaches its bed capacity. The bed capacity is generally at about 85 percent, although detention capacity does spike. Ms. Cain talked about the kids who would be affected by this bill. A federal act requires juveniles to be in sight and sound separation from the adult population when held in jails. The practical result of that legislation is that juveniles end up in what is effectively solitary confinement for periods of 6 months or more pending the outcome of their trials.

02:26 PM --
Nicole Miera, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Miera shared details of her experience as the sister of a juvenile who committed suicide while being detained in an adult jail after being charged as an adult for vehicular homicide.

02:34 PM --
Kim Dvorchak, representing the Colorado Juvenile Defender Coalition, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Dvorchak outlined the organizational structure and daily activities at the Marvin Foote Center juvenile detention facility. She continued with an explanation of supervised visitations for juveniles, and training provided to staff at juvenile detention facilities. Ms. Dvorchak said adult jails do not have the ability to provide these services. She walked the committee through a table included in Attachment C.

02:42 PM -- Pat Vance, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Vance talked about his experience in representing juvenile offenders. He discussed the process of holding juveniles in the Adams County Jail, including various education and exercise opportunities, which are very limited. He stated that juveniles are not necessarily separated by sight and sound according to federal law. He described the experience of juveniles in adult detention. Mr. Vance distributed a letter he wrote to the committee about juveniles in jail (Attachment H).

09HouseJud0413AttachH.pdf

02:56 PM --
Carey Chamberlin, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Dr. Chamberlin is a psychologist and an expert in the field of adolescent brain development. He has worked extensively with juvenile offenders in Colorado. Juveniles may not be held in administrative segregation or isolation in the DYC without administrative review. Juvenile brains and adult brains are very different.

03:04 PM --
Randall Lococo, Colorado Juvenile Defender Coalition, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Lococo shared details of his experience representing juveniles charged as adults. He stated that most of these cases do not result in prison sentences.

03:17 PM --
Wendy Hickey, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Hickey shared details of her experience representing juveniles charged as adults, especially those with mental health issues.

03:22 PM --
Chris Braddock, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Braddock shared details of his experience representing juveniles charged as adults.

03:27 PM --
Cathy Hazouri, ACLU of Colorado, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Hazouri stated that keeping juvenile offenders in isolation is borderline torture. She stressed that these are children.

03:30 PM --
Carla Bennett, League of Women Voters, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Bennett discussed her objection to direct filing charges against children and raised concerns about the way those children are handled in the adult system. She wants children held separately from adults, but does not approve of putting children in solitary confinement. Ms. Bennett stated her belief that the bill affords children their due process rights.

03:33 PM --
Steve Jensen, Colorado District Attorneys Council (CDAC), spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Jensen expressed concerns about the serious nature of the offenses for which juveniles are charged as adults. He stated his belief that other juvenile offenders are put at risk by contact with more serious offenders, who will teach the less serious offender how to commit more serious crimes. He also expressed concerns about the safety of the community if some offenders must be released to manage the detention bed cap. He responded to questions from the committee about the costs of transporting juvenile offenders. He indicated that his office is open to discussions about moving juvenile offenders to DYC facilities when it is appropriate.

03:43 PM --
Ted Tow, CDAC, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Tow believes this is a large-scale systemic change that should be vetted by a group that represents all stakeholders. He also expressed concern that this bill will result in decreased public safety, especially when offenders with gang affiliations are involved. The district attorneys want these offenders housed in the most appropriate place and, with the current system, that place does not exist. Suicides by juvenile offenders in jails should not be addressed by a response that is not measured and appropriate. He further discussed the effects of mixing violent offenders with less serious offenders in DYC facilities. Mr. Tow responded to questions from the committee.

04:18 PM --
Tom Raynes, Colorado Attorney General's Office, spoke in opposition to the bill. Mr. Raynes urged the further study of this issue by a group that includes most stakeholders that can look at evidence-based practices. He discussed some recommendations made by the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice that have been codified in law. He offered this as evidence that this sort of vetting process works. He recommended sending the issue back to the commission.

04:23 PM -- George Kennedy and Al Estrada, Department of Human Services, came to the table to respond to questions from committee members. They outlined the oversight and service missions for the state's youth detention facilities. In response to questions, Mr. Kennedy indicated that the division is neutral on the bill. Mr. Estrada discussed the fact that the bill could increase the need for new beds in the detention facilities. Mr. Estrada went on to explain the different levels of detention and placement, describing the care and staffing for each type. Representative McCann asked Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Estrada to discuss the potential impact of the bill's implementation on the existing populations.
BILL:HB09-1321
TIME: 04:42:02 PM
MOVED:Levy
MOTION:Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment D). The amendment modifies the criteria considered by the court in making its determination. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Court
VOTE
Apuan
Court
Gardner B.
King
Miklosi
Pace
Roberts
Ryden
Waller
McCann
Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB09-1321
TIME: 04:43:52 PM
MOVED:Levy
MOTION:Adopt prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment E). The amendment removes class 1 felons from the provisions of the bill. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Court
VOTE
Apuan
Court
Gardner B.
King
Miklosi
Pace
Roberts
Ryden
Waller
McCann
Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB09-1321
TIME: 04:44:34 PM
MOVED:Levy
MOTION:Adopt prepared amendment L.003 (Attachment F). The amendment is intended to make the hearings less cumbersome. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:Court
VOTE
Apuan
Court
Gardner B.
King
Miklosi
Pace
Roberts
Ryden
Waller
McCann
Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:HB09-1321
TIME: 04:45:28 PM
MOVED:Levy
MOTION:Adopt prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment G). The amendment imposes a surcharge on criminal offenses in order to fund the bill. Members of the committee commented on the amendment. The motion passed on a vote of 7-4.
SECONDED:Pace
VOTE
Apuan
Yes
Court
Yes
Gardner B.
No
King
No
Miklosi
Yes
Pace
Yes
Roberts
No
Ryden
Yes
Waller
No
McCann
Yes
Levy
Yes
Not Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


04:56 PM

Representative Levy wrapped up her presentation of the bill and asked for a favorable recommendation. Members of the committee commented about their positions on the bill.
BILL:HB09-1321
TIME: 05:09:55 PM
MOVED:Levy
MOTION:Refer House Bill 09-1321, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 7-4.
SECONDED:Pace
VOTE
Apuan
Yes
Court
Yes
Gardner B.
No
King
No
Miklosi
Yes
Pace
Yes
Roberts
No
Ryden
Yes
Waller
No
McCann
Yes
Levy
Yes
Final YES: 7 NO: 4 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS



05:10 PM

Representative McCann adjourned the committee.