h_jud_2017a_2018-01-08t09:05:54z0 Hearing Summary

The committee was called to order.  A quorum was present. 

Nancy Rice, Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court, briefed the committee under the SMART Government Act and Joint Rule 25.  Chief Justice Rice was joined by Mr. Christopher T. Ryan, State Court Administrator.  Chief Justice Rice provided an overview of the Judicial Branch and its activities.  Chief Justice Rice discussed Judicial's FY 2018-19 budget request and also covered problem solving courts.  Mr. Ryan provided clarifying remarks on these issues.

Mr. Ryan responded to questions regarding the potential for trading resources across judicial district lines. Chief Justice Rice returned to briefing the committee on the Judicial Branch's FY 2018-19 budget request. She then outlined the branch's 2018 legislative agenda.

Chief Justice Rice discussed Judicial Branch audits and reported to the committee on restorative justice with input from Mr. Ryan. Discussion ensued about certain recent interactions between Colorado probation officers at the local level and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The committee discussed the state's civil court system and the loss of confidence in it.  The handling of domestic relations cases by the Judicial Branch was also questioned, and data was presented on multi-year case filings (Attachment A).  The hearing topic then turned to an investigation conducted by the Judicial Branch on sexual harassment within the branch.

The following persons testified regarding the Judicial Branch:



Mr. Michael Dell, representing Colorado Cure, testified regarding the registration of sex offenders within Colorado's judicial system. Discussion ensued regarding legislation that may come forward in the 2018 legislative session regarding sex offender registration.

Mr. Arash Johanian, representing the American Civil Liberties Union, testified regarding recent contacts by Colorado probation officers to ICE.  Discussion ensued regarding the issues raised by Mr. Johanian.

Ms. Julie Gonzales, representing the Meyer Law Office, testified regarding the use of judicial resources to address immigration-related issues.

Mr. Dennis Maes, representing himself, testified regarding the use of polygraph tests for sex offense cases.

Mr. Augustine Garcia, representing Advocates for Change, testified regarding the use of polygraph testing by the Sex Offender Management Board.  The committee discussed polygraphs and their use for managing the sex offender population.

A letter from Dale Jenkins regarding polygraph testing was distributed to the committee (Attachment B).