Joint Committee Committee on Joint Judiciary (01/13/2012)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COMMITTEE ON JOINT JUDICIARY

Date:	01/13/2012	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:02 PM to 02:28 PM	Barker	X
		DelGrosso	*
Place:	HCR 0107	Duran	X
		Giron	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Guzman	X
	Representative Gardner B.	Kagan	X
		King S.	E
This Report was prepared by		Lee	X
	Jessika Shipley	Lundberg	*
		Nicholson	X
		Nikkel	X
		Pabon	X
		Roberts	E
		Ryden	X
		Sonnenberg	X
		Waller	X
		Gardner B.	X
		Carroll	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Briefing from the Independent Ethics Commission Briefing by the Office of the Child's Representative Briefing by the Alternate Defense Counsel		Committee Discussion Only Committee Discussion Only Committee Discussion Only

01:03 PM -- Briefing from the Independent Ethics Commission

Representative Gardner welcomed Dan Grossman and Jane Feldman from the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission (IEC). Commissioner Grossman, commission chair, discussed the charge of the IEC, which was established by Amendment 41 in 2006. He explained the work of the IEC with respect to ethics questions and complaints. The IEC is administratively connected with the Judicial Branch, but is an independent entity. Commissioner Grossman briefly discussed the budget of the commission, which is very small and only includes one full-time employee. In response to a request from Senator Carroll, Commissioner Grossman spoke about the strategic goals of the IEC, which are listed in the commission's strategic plan (Attachment A). Generally, the five-year objectives of the commission include revising the complaint process; expanding education and training opportunities for covered individuals; continuing timely responses to requests for advisory opinions; being more proactive in issuing guidance to covered individuals; speeding up the process for resolving non-frivolous complaints; and scheduling one or two meetings annually outside the Denver metro area.

01:12 PM

Commissioner Grossman responded to questions from the committee about speeding up the commission's decision-making process. Ms. Feldman indicated that it currently takes between nine months and a year to resolve a complaint. The commission is more timely when answering questions and issuing letter rulings. Commissioner Grossman spoke about the constitutional charge of the committee and his concern with undermining that charge in any way. He discussed the importance of the independence of the commission.

01:22 PM

Representative Gardner announced that the House Judiciary Committee liaisons to the IEC are Representatives Duran and Nikkel. Commissioner Grossman informed the committee that Commissioner Butcher has recently resigned from the IEC and asked for assistance in getting a new appointment from the Speaker of the House.

01:23 PM -- Briefing by the Office of the Child's Representative

Linda Weinerman, executive director of the Office of the Child's Representative (OCR), came to the table and provided a fact sheet (Attachment B) and the OCR's strategic plan (Attachment C) to the committee. Ms. Weinerman spoke about the mandate and vision of the OCR. She discussed her expectation that the OCR should always strive to improve the quality of attorney services and to create efficiency wherever possible. It is her opinion that this can be accomplished by providing statewide training for all of the players in the dependency and neglect system; establishing minimum practice standards for all attorneys representing the best interests of children; and providing litigation support to and oversight of OCR attorneys.

01:32 PM

Ms. Weinerman continued her briefing and discussed training, best practices, front-loading services to youth in the justice system, and establishing fair compensation rates for OCR attorneys. In deference to the state's economic issues, the OCR will not ask for a rate increase in FY 2012-13. Ms. Weinerman responded to questions from the committee about attorney billing. She discussed a new computerized billing system the OCR is using, which was purchased using a grant from the Mellon Foundation. The new system allows very detailed data analysis, which is very helpful when evaluating the quality and efficiency of the services provided by the OCR.

01:38 PM

In response to committee questions, Ms. Weinerman discussed how children obtain the services of the OCR. Some guardian ad litem appointments are statutorily mandated, while others are made at the discretion of the court. She also indicated that the OCR does not measure whether their recommendations are implemented by the courts. She discussed a recent court decision regarding attorney-client privilege and how it applies to guardians ad litem. She spoke about the unique relationship between a child and a guardian ad litem, who is required to represent the best interests of the child. As such, the child cannot be a client in the sense that he or she directs the course of his or her representation.

01:46 PM

Ms. Weinerman talked about feedback and assessment the OCR receives about guardians ad litem from a number of actors within the judicial system, including judges and court staff. She expressed her hope to get more feedback from children about the guardians ad litem. She spoke more about using her computerized billing system to measure the performance of the OCR contract attorneys. In response to further questions from the committee, Ms. Weinerman explained the process of investigating and resolving complaints about guardians ad litem.

01:55 PM

Representative Gardner announced that the House Judiciary Committee liaisons to the OCR are Representatives Nikkel and Ryden.

01:56 PM -- Briefing by the Alternate Defense Counsel

Lindy Frolich and Bert Nieslanik, representing the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel (OADC), came to the table and provided their strategic plan to the committee (Attachment D). Ms. Frolich discussed compensation rates for OADC attorneys. The OADC has been attempting to limit the number of hours spent on each case as a budget-cutting measure. This attempt has been successful over the past few years. Ms. Frolich also talked about training, cost-effective research tools and resources, and the evaluation, monitoring, and auditing of contractors on an ongoing basis.

02:04 PM

Ms. Frolich responded to questions from the committee about the availability of qualified attorneys willing to contract with the OADC for the rate paid by the office. She spoke about the difficulty in making a comparison between the salaries of OADC attorneys and district attorneys. She indicated that caseloads over the last few years were decreasing until approximately six months ago. At that point, caseloads began trending upwards, but Ms. Frolich did not provide a specific reason for the trend. She discussed some cost-savings measures she has implemented, including scanning court and discovery documents and in-house evaluation of cases prior to assigning them to a contract attorney. She listed the top ten things the OADC has done to cut costs and the top ten things that could be done to save more money.

02:17 PM

Ms. Nieslanik discussed an assistance grant Mesa County received to map the entire criminal justice system in the county to see how decisions are made. A major goal of the program is to divert low-risk offenders out of the criminal justice system using evidence-based decision-making. She spoke about the successes of the grant program and responded to questions from the committee.

02:23 PM

Ms. Frolich responded to questions about the reduction in attorney hours in cases. She does not encourage attorneys to plea bargain cases rather than taking them to trial. Representative Lee commended Ms. Frolich on the work of the OADC. Representative Gardner announced that the House Judiciary Committee liaisons to the OADC are Representatives Ryden and Waller.

02:28 PM

The committee adjourned.