To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Michelle Halstead, Director, Commissioners' Office
Prepared By:
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Sara Overby, Management Analyst, Commissioners' Office
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presenter
Presenter: Michelle Halstead, Director, Commissioners' Office
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Subject:
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9:00 AM *Update on the Domestic Violence Case Transition to the 18th Judicial District
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The purpose of this study session is to provide an update on the transition of domestic violence cases from the City of Aurora Municipal Court to the 18th Judicial District and discuss next steps.
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Background and Discussion: Aurora City Council adopted a resolution in September 2024 to stop prosecuting domestic violence cases currently handled by the Aurora Municipal Court. The decision occurred in response to fiscal concerns and state legislation that impacts how municipal courts handle domestic violence cases. These cases will be transitioned to the 17th and 18th Judicial Districts for prosecution starting July 1, 2025, in response to outreach from the Board of County Commissioners and the Arapahoe County Justice Coordinating Committee. The city council resolution required their appointees to continue working with county stakeholders and provide a report to city council at the end of Q1 2025 on the progress of the transition plan.
At the direction of the Board of County Commissioners, staff from the commissioners' office convened county partners over the last several months to understand the impacts of this transition to ensure cases are processed in a timely manner and justice is achieved. Representatives from the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office, the 18th Judicial District Combined Courts and Probation Department, the Colorado State Public Defender, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, Community Resources, and Finance Department began meeting to identify resource needs and opportunities to manage the influx of new cases.
The 18th Ju...
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