Date: 02/22/2010
Final
Briefing by the Judicial Branch
COMMITTEE ON JOINT JUDICIARY
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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.