House Committee on Judiciary (04/26/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

Date:	04/26/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:49 PM to 04:28 PM	Court	X
		Gardner B.	X
Place:	HCR 0107	Kagan	X
		King S.	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Miklosi	X
	Representative Levy	Nikkel	X
		Pace	X
This Report was prepared by		Ryden	X
	Jessika Shipley	Waller	X
		McCann	X
		Levy	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
HB10-1411 HB10-1413		Amended, Referred to Appropriations Amended, Referred to Appropriations

01:50 PM -- House Bill 10-1411

Representative Waller, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 10-1411 concerning the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The bill amends the current statute concerning grounds for denial of a firearm. Under current law, an individual is denied the transfer of a firearm if he or she has been arrested for or charged with a crime that would prohibit the individual from possessing a firearm under state or federal law and there has been no final disposition of the case or the final disposition is unknown. Under House Bill 10-1411, an individual would be denied the transfer of a firearm if he or she has been arrested for an applicable crime and is released on bond or has been issued a summons to appear in court.

Representative Waller explained the bill and distributed prepared amendments L.002 and L.004 (Attachments A and B). The committee discussed the bill and the amendments.

02:09 PM -- Ron Sloan, Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), spoke in support of the bill with amendments L.002 and L.004. Mr. Sloan discussed the process the CBI would use to conduct investigations related to appeals of firearm purchase denials. He spoke about the staffing needs at the CBI in order to conduct such investigations in a timely and thorough manner. Mr. Sloan responded to questions from the committee. He stated that the CBI assumes that the majority of those who are denied the right to purchase a firearm due to an arrest without a matching disposition will appeal the denial. He provided information about the current number of denials on arrest and the number of appeals, both successful and unsuccessful. The committee discussed the staffing resources required to accomplish the tasks set out in the bill.

02:27 PM -- Karl Wilmes, CBI, spoke in support of the bill with amendments L.002 and L.004.

02:28 PM -- Annmarie Jensen, representing the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and Colorado Ceasefire, spoke in support of the bill with amendments L.002 and L.004. Ms. Jensen raised concerns about he broadness of the bill's title. She asked for Representative Waller's verbal commitment not to change the intent of the bill.


BILL:	HB10-1411
TIME:	02:32:09 PM
MOVED:	Waller
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.002 (Attachment A). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Gardner B.
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1411
TIME:	02:32:24 PM
MOVED:	Waller
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.004 (Attachment B), which amends L.002. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Gardner B.
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1411
TIME:	02:32:51 PM
MOVED:	Waller
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 10-1411, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	Gardner B.
		VOTE
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	King S.	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Excused
	Levy	Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

02:34 PM -- House Bill 10-1413

Representatives Levy and May, co-sponsors, presented House Bill 10-1413 concerning juveniles who are tried as adults. Current law allows a district attorney to file criminal charges against a juvenile as young as 14 in district court, a process known as "direct filing" of charges. This bill raises the minimum age to 16, except in cases of:

• first degree murder;
• second degree murder; or
• a sex offense combined with one of the following:
• the alleged crime is a crime of violence;
• the juvenile used or threatened the use of a deadly weapon during the commission of the crime;
• the juvenile has, within the previous two years, been adjudicated as a juvenile delinquent for committing a class 3 felony;
• the juvenile has previously had charges direct filed or transferred, unless he or she was found not guilty of such charges; or
• the juvenile is determined to be a habitual juvenile offender.

A district attorney who intends to direct file charges against a juvenile must provide notice of such intent with the juvenile court at least 14 days prior to doing so. The 14-day notice requirement does not apply to cases of first degree murder, second degree murder, sex offenses, or incest. The district attorney is required to consider specific criteria in determining whether to direct file and to provide written notice about which factors led to such a decision.

Current law prohibits the court from sentencing a juvenile convicted of a class 2 felony in district court to the Youthful Offender System (YOS) in the Department of Corrections (DOC). The bill allows judges the discretion to sentence juveniles who were convicted of class 2 felonies (excluding sex offenses) to the YOS.

Representative Levy distributed prepared amendment L.001, which strikes everything below the enacting clause (Attachment C). She also distributed prepared amendments L.005, L.006, L.007, L.008, and L.009 (Attachments D-H).

02:43 PM -- Ted Tow, Colorado District Attorneys' Council (CDAC), spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Tow discussed the fundamental disagreement among participants in the juvenile justice system regarding the treatment of juveniles who commit crimes. He spoke about the criteria district attorneys should use for deciding whether to charge a juvenile as an adult. He stated that the bill creates transparency and allows the district attorney to make more informed decisions about how to charge juveniles. He discussed the housing of juveniles pending a trial and the types of offenses that are excluded from the new minimum age. Mr. Tow continued to talk about the various changes made by the bill. He responded at length to a question from Representative Levy about section 1 of the bill. He also responded to questions about opposition within the CDAC about the bill.

03:05 PM -- Norene Simpson, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Simpson is a public defender in El Paso County who oversees all direct file and transfer cases in the El Paso County office of the Public Defender. She provided information about the impact to her office when a client has charges direct filed upon him or her.

03:08 PM -- Dr. Jerry Yager, Denver Children's Home, spoke in support of the bill. Dr. Yager discussed juvenile brain development at length. He responded to questions from the committee.

03:19 PM -- Carla Bennett, League of Women Voters, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Bennett discussed the appropriate treatment of juvenile offenders.

03:22 PM -- Wendy Hickey, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Hickey spoke about the 14-day notice requirement, which gives sufficient time to provide the district attorney with relevant information about a case. She responded to questions from the committee.

03:26 PM -- Tom Raynes, Colorado Attorney General's Office, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Raynes expressed his own support and that of Attorney General Suthers. He responded to questions from the committee.

03:31 PM -- Kim Dvorchak, Colorado Juvenile Defender Coalition, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Dvorchak discussed her experience as a defense attorney for juveniles charged as adults. She responded to questions from the committee about due process rights.

03:40 PM -- Maureen Cain, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Cain discussed her experience working on issues related to direct filing of charges. She talked about individual cases of juveniles charged as adults. She provided information about juveniles who committed suicide or were killed after having charges direct filed. She spoke about the relative success of the YOS.

03:47 PM -- Shay Bilchik, Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University, spoke in support of the bill. Mr. Bilchik spoke about his experience with the juvenile justice system and the prosecution of juveniles in adult criminal court. He talked about the Colorado system. He discussed academic research studies on the subject of youth in the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems. Mr. Bilchik responded to questions from the committee.

03:58 PM -- Lori Bueno, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Bueno related details of her personal experience as the mother of an individual who was sentenced to the YOS as a result of having charges direct filed on him.

04:05 PM -- Tracy Maguire, representing herself, spoke in support of the bill. Ms. Maguire discussed her experience as a guardian ad litem and related details about a specific juvenile case.


BILL:	HB10-1413
TIME:	04:20:58 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.001 (Attachment C). The amendment strikes everything below the enacting clause. Representative May provided closing comments. Representative Levy also provided closing comments about the bill. The motion to adopt the amendment passed on a vote of 10-0, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	King S.
		VOTE
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	King S.	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Excused
	Levy	Yes
Not Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS


BILL:	HB10-1413
TIME:	04:17:14 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.007 (Attachment F). The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1413
TIME:	04:13:55 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Amend prepared amendment L.007 (Attachment F): line 2, strike "seventy-two" and substitute "forty-eight". The committee discussed whether the 48 hours mentioned in the amendment excludes weekends and court holidays. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1413
TIME:	04:12:16 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.008 (Attachment G), which amends L.001. The amendments addresses the 14-day notice requirement. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1413
TIME:	04:10:19 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.006 (Attachment E)), which amends L.001. The amendment addresses the timing of filing charges. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1413
TIME:	04:09:25 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Adopt prepared amendment L.009 (Attachment H), which amends L.001. The motion passed without objection.
SECONDED:	Court
		VOTE
	Court
	Gardner B.
	Kagan
	King S.
	Miklosi
	Nikkel
	Pace
	Ryden
	Waller
	McCann
	Levy
Not Final YES: 0 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: Pass Without Objection


BILL:	HB10-1413
TIME:	04:27:25 PM
MOVED:	Levy
MOTION:	Refer House Bill 10-1413, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation. The motion passed on a vote of 10-0, with 1 excused.
SECONDED:	Nikkel
		VOTE
	Court	Yes
	Gardner B.	Yes
	Kagan	Yes
	King S.	Yes
	Miklosi	Yes
	Nikkel	Yes
	Pace	Yes
	Ryden	Yes
	Waller	Yes
	McCann	Excused
	Levy	Yes
Final YES: 10 NO: 0 EXC: 1 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS

04:28 PM

Representative Kagan adjourned the committee.