The Joint Judiciary Committee's SMART Act hearing covered the Colorado Judicial Branch, State Board of Parole, Access to Justice Commission, and Commission on Judicial Discipline. Key tensions included judicial security threats, a sharp decline in discretionary parole releases straining DOC capacity, victim advocacy organizations excluded from a judge-training process, and calls to expand the Commission on Judicial Discipline's jurisdiction to cover magistrates.
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Senator KARIS Wallace quoted a JBC analyst attributing DOC capacity pressure to 'a sharp decrease in parole releases coupled with a steady stream of new prisoners' and asked the Parole Board to weigh budget and human rights alongside safety, while Chair Rondi Moore countered 'I don't believe the parole board is allowing a delay in releases. We are granting or denying release based on risks as outlined in the statute,' later clarifying the board has been 'decreasing' releases rather than 'delaying' them.
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“Last month in the same jurisdiction, all on the same day, a public defender had her car stolen from the parking lot, there was a report of a gun in the courtroom, and a family member of a victim attacked a 69 year old defense lawyer in the hallway, body slamming him to the ground and sending him to the hospital with a shattered pelvis.”
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Sign in to subscribeThe committee will come to order. Ms. Shipley, please call the roll. Representatives and Senators. Bacon. Caldwell. Excused. Carson carter. Excused. Clifford gordy. Excused. Town degraff. Right here. Espinosa. Here. Flel Garcia. Here. Nuron. Excused. Kelty. Here. Roberts. Here. Wallace. Here. Zamora Wilson. Present. Zokai. Excused. Weissman. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Here. All right, members, we are starting on time today and maybe, maybe we can stick to the schedule and get out of here before 5:00 today. First, we are joined by the judicial branch. We have our honorable Chief justice of the Supreme Court, Monica Marquez here, and I will pass it to you to start your presentation. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Appreciate the opportunity. Mr. Chair, I'm Monica Marcus and today with me is our State Court Administrator, Stephen Vasconcellos. I also want to mention that we are joined today by Chief Judge Susan Blanco of the 8th Judicial District, who will be coming to the table to join and cover a portion of our presentation. I'm the senior justice on the Supreme Court where I've served for 15 years. And in July 2024, I began a three year term as Chief Justice. And…
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