Joint Committee Committee on Joint Judiciary (02/22/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COMMITTEE ON JOINT JUDICIARY

Date:	02/22/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	08:03 AM to 09:37 AM	Court	X
		Gardner B.	*
Place:	HCR 0107	Hudak	*
		Kagan	*
This Meeting was called to order by		King K.	E
	Senator Carroll M.	King S.	E
		Lundberg	E
This Report was prepared by		McCann	*
	Hillary Smith	Miklosi	E
		Newell	X
		Nikkel	*
		Pace	*
		Renfroe	*
		Ryden	*
		Steadman	*
		Waller	X
		Carroll M.	X
		Levy	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Briefing by the Judicial Branch Briefing by the State Public Defender Briefing by the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel Briefing by the Office of the Child's Representative		Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only Witness Testimony and/or Committee Discussion Only

08:05 AM -- Briefing by the Judicial Branch

Senator Carroll, chair, called the meeting to order.

Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey of the Colorado Supreme Court introduced herself and distributed the Judicial Branch's presentation (Attachment A). Chief Justice Mullarkey discussed the Judicial Branch's proposal for budget cuts. She described a hiring freeze and a voluntary separation program that have led to reductions in personnel.

08:09 AM

Judge Gerald Marroney, State Court Administrator, joined Chief Justice Mullarkey at the table to discuss caseload trends within the Judicial Branch. He spoke about the recent growth in foreclosure filings and debt collection cases. He also discussed case types that are decreasing, such as tort cases. Judge Marroney described discussions that the Judicial Branch had with the Joint Budget Committee concerning a reduction in probation officers. He provided information on the relative costs of probation versus prison beds. He referred to graphics in the presentation packet concerning the types of offenders who are on probation. Judge Marroney moved on to a discussion of problem-solving courts, such as drug courts. He described the financial benefits of problem-solving courts.

08:17 AM

Representative Levy asked several follow-up questions concerning problem-solving courts. Chief Justice Mullarkey and Representative Levy discussed the use of national data regarding such courts. Judge Marroney described a Colorado Supreme Court committee responsible for ensuring that Colorado problem-solving courts meet national criteria for effectiveness. He offered to provide the members of the committee with additional detail on this subject.

08:21 AM

Representative Levy asked whether cost comparisons between probation and prison beds include factors such as therapy. Mr. Tom Quinn, Director of Probation Services for the Judicial Branch, came to the table to address her question. Discussion ensued between Representative Levy and Mr. Quinn on this topic. Judge Marroney shared additional comments.

08:24 AM

Responding to questions from Representative McCann, Chief Justice Mullarkey and Judge Marroney provided additional detail on how the Judicial Branch is adjusting to personnel cuts.

08:26 AM

Representative Kagan asked how much of the recent decrease in tort case filings is related to a decrease in professional malpractice cases. Representative Court asked for information on the proportion of people who are put on probation rather than sentenced to the Department of Corrections. Discussion on this topic continued.

08:30 AM

Senator Hudak asked for the Judicial Branch to follow up with some information regarding the success of truancy courts. Representative Gardner asked about the conversion of LexisNexis to an in-house program. He discussed his concerns with that change. Judge Marroney responded to his concerns and spoke about the benefits of an in-house system.

08:36 AM -- Briefing by the State Public Defender

Mr. Doug Wilson, State Public Defender, introduced himself. He was joined by Mr. Doug Tracey, the Chief Administrative and Operations Officer. Mr. Wilson distributed a copy of the office's presentation (Attachment B). He also distributed a letter from the Colorado Lawyers Committee concerning the unconstitutionality of section 16-7-301 (4), Colorado Revised Statutes (Attachment C).

Mr. Wilson described a recent conference concerning defense counsel for indigent persons. He spoke about the rights of persons who are accused of crimes. Mr. Wilson described the Office of the State Public Defender; he stated that the office's sole mission is to provide effective representation to the criminally accused who are determined to be indigent. He spoke about the effects of the economic downturn on the number of cases closed and on the office's staffing shortages. He provided statistics concerning the office's caseload. Mr. Wilson described the budget cuts at the office and explained the effects of such cuts. He compared his office's budget to the budgets of other state agencies. He described statistics concerning the population of offenders at the Department of Corrections.

08:45 AM

Mr. Wilson continued his presentation. He asked the committee to consider a couple of questions when considering bills: (1) does the issue addressed by the bill really need to be a crime, or is it yesterday's headline? and (2) if a new crime is necessary, does it have to be classified as a felony? He spoke about real reform versus low-hanging fruit. He discussed the importance of evidence-based practices that divert individuals from prison. He listed several examples of budget-reducing reforms.

08:48 AM

Mr. Wilson responded to questions from Representative Pace concerning how the Office of the State Public Defender's budget compares to the budget of district attorneys. He responded to further questions concerning the effects of problem-solving courts. He addressed a question from Representative Waller concerning the relationship between sentencing reform and public safety.

08:53 AM

In response to comments from Representative Levy, Mr. Wilson provided background information on Attachment C. He discussed the increase in caseload that would be likely if the statute in question is found to be unconstitutional. Discussion turned to Senate Bill 09-286, which was significantly amended and enacted during the 2009 session. Mr. Wilson described the process for declaring a case overload at the Office of the State Public Defender.

09:02 AM

Senator Carroll asked for Mr. Wilson's reaction to legislation introduced during the 2010 session. Mr. Wilson said that he would not testify against any bills recommended by the Colorado Commission on Juvenile Justice, but he believes that the cost savings from such bills will be very small compared to the cost savings that would have been realized from Senate Bill 09-286, as introduced. He indicated that many of the current bills only address low-hanging fruit, and will not direct savings towards the Office of the State Public Defender.

09:04 AM

Mr. Wilson responded to questions from Representative Waller concerning additional funds that were appropriated to the Office of the State Public Defender during the 2009 session. Mr. Wilson responded to questions from Senator Newell concerning the Rothgery v. Gillespie County case. Representative Levy praised the work of the Office of the State Public Defender.

09:09 AM -- Briefing by the Alternate Defense Counsel

Ms. Lindy Frolich, Director of the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel (OADC), introduced herself and distributed the office's presentation (Attachment D). Ms. Frolich described her office's relationship with the Office of the State Public Defender. She noted that the OADC, unlike the Office of the State Public Defender, cannot use salaried employees. She stated that case overload on the part of the Office of the State Public Defender would not be considered a "conflict of interest" for the purposes of allowing her office to take any cases. Ms. Frolich described methods the OADC has proposed to save money. She remarked that the OADC currently has the only death penalty cases in Colorado.

09:16 AM

Ms. Frolich continued her presentation. She spoke about Senate Bill 10-063, which provides immunity from civil liability for any claims that arise as a result of an act or omission committed by an attorney who contracts with the OADC, as long as the act or omission occurred during the performance of the attorney's contractual duties. Ms. Frolich responded to committee questions concerning discovery costs.

09:21 AM

Ms. Frolich responded to questions from Representative Ryden concerning the OADC's involvement in death penalty cases.

09:23 AM -- Briefing by Office of the Child's Representative

Ms. Linda Weinerman, Executive Director of the Office of the Child's Representative (OCR), introduced herself and described her office. She distributed a fact sheet concerning the OCR (Attachment E). A fact sheet on Senate Bill 10-043, which removes the repeal date for the OCR, was also distributed (Attachment F). Two discs containing the OCR's ninth annual report and other information were distributed to the committee. The discs can be found at the State Archives. Ms. Weinerman described the role of the OCR and explained how attorneys are hired and evaluated within the office.

09:32 AM

Ms. Weinerman discussed audit findings concerning the OCR. She spoke about how the focus of the OCR has shifted in the ten years since it was founded.

09:34 AM

Ms. Weinerman responded to questions from Senator Newell concerning discrepancies between child welfare offices across the state.

09:37 AM

The committee adjourned.