Court Watch Colorado launches to monitor criminal justice reform implementation
Volunteers will soon become watchdogs in Denver-area courtrooms after the launch of a new program by the ACLU of Colorado and the Colorado Freedom Fund.
Court Watch Colorado hosted its first training for volunteers Saturday at the Central Park Recreation Center, and more than 80 people attended to learn which recent reforms passed by the Colorado legislature affect court operations.
The organizers are monitoring compliance with specific changes:
• Defendants are allowed legal representation before their first appearances.
• Defendants who can’t pay fines are allowed alternatives to jail.
• Municipal defendants must appear in court within two days or be released on a personal recognizance bond.
• There is no cash bail for petty offenses.
“The courts are really working for us as community members and (Court Watch) is just trying to provide a space for people to learn more about what the courts are up to and actually have a role of holding them accountable,” said the ACLU’s Becca Curry, criminal justice research and policy counsel.
The program will run for 10 weeks and will collect data to get a better sense of pretrial practices in courts, she said. The pilot program is starting with Denver County Court, Denver Municipal Court and Aurora Municipal Court. Elisabeth Epps, one of the program coordinators, said the aim is not just to catch the courts violating laws or people’s rights.
“We really don’t want to catch people doing wrong, frankly,” Epps said. “We’d love to monitor good behavior and make sure it’s consistent.”
Epps recalled sitting in Aurora Municipal Court last week with some colleagues from the ACLU and hearing a judge providing defendants with their legal options but leaving out their right to appointed counsel before making a plea, granted by House Bill 16-1309. So, the ACLU contacted the court and the issue was corrected when Epps returned later that week.
But that was just one judge in one courtroom.
“While we can’t be everywhere, we can amplify what we hear and what we know,” Epps said.
For more information about the program, go to courtwatchcolorado.org.