Department of Administrative Services
Reference: Appointment of Deputy On-call Judges
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: Karen Borkowski Surine, Assistant City Manager
Michelle Ramos, Court Administrator
Date Prepared: 3/11/2020
PURPOSE
To request that City Council appoint Deputy “Fill-in” judges for the Brighton Municipal Court on an on-call basis.
STRATEGIC FOCUS AREA
Safe, Active and Engaged Community
Strong Regional Relationships and Partnerships
BACKGROUND
Section 8.2 of the City Charter requires that Council appoint a presiding judge and such deputy judges as the Council deems necessary. Judge Kline has compiled a comprehensive “bench book” as a reference for on-call judges that includes information on how fines are assessed on traffic tickets, basic court procedures and how to use the Court software for court sessions.
On September 21, 2021, City Council appointed Michelle Kline as the Presiding Municipal Judge for a minimum of 100 days per year. Council made the decision to increase the Presiding Municipal Judges hours in order to better serve the needs of the community and for consistency on the bench. This has worked very well for the efficient operations of the Court, however, there are times when a Deputy Judge would be necessary. The following are three incidents where an on-call judge would be utilized:
1. If a defendant requests the setting of a Jury Trial the matter is set on a non-court date in consideration of the court schedule, the City Prosecutor, the defendant or their attorney and the judge. The number of participants involved sometimes requires a setting on a date when Judge Kline would not be available. The court would then contact one of the “fill-in” judges to find coverage for the case to ensure the defendant’s right to a trial are kept.
2. There are also those occasions when Judge Kline may have a family emergency or sudden illness that can require a relief judge to cover an already full court docket. If the court was to reschedule a full court docket this would create an inconvenience to the defendants, the victims and any attorneys scheduled to appear. It would also create a backlog in court dockets to accommodate the reset matters. This is an inefficient use of resources and reflects poor customer service.
3. On a rare occasion Judge Kline may be required to recuse herself due to familiarity with a defendant or a victim in a particular case. If a defendant should appear and is a current or former employee of the City of Brighton and they are familiar with Judge Kline, they can request that she be recused in order to ensure a fair trial. Similarly, if Judge Kline is familiar with a victim in a case and the defendant felt this could prejudice the outcome of the trial, they could request Judge Kline be recused. The Court would then be obligated to find a “fill-in” judge to hear the matter to ensure the rights of the defendant.
Charles Peters was appointed Deputy Judge for fill-in purposes approximately two years ago. Judge Peters has worked well with Court staff and would like to continue serving. He has served as Deputy Judge approximately 13 times since he was appointed by City Council and prior to the appointment of Judge Kline.
Staff advertised for Deputy Judges and received 3 new applications. Interviews were conducted by Judge Kline, Court Administrator Michelle Ramos and Assistant City Manager Karen Borkowski Surine. One applicant, Judge Johnny Barajas, and previously appointed Judge Charles Peters, have met all the criteria for the position, specifically an attorney at law admitted to practice in the State of Colorado and have at least five years of experience in the practice of law at the time of appointment, demonstrable knowledge of, and the ability to apply the Colorado Rules of Evidence, the Colorado Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Colorado Rules of Municipal Procedure, and Brighton Municipal Code, statutory and case law in Colorado, licensed in good standing to practice law by the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, and a valid Colorado driver’s license with a safe driving record. A background check was also completed for the finalists.
CRITERIA BY WHICH COUNCIL MUST CONSIDER THE ITEM
Currently the Court has two (2) on-call judges that have been interviewed and meet the criteria for a deputy judge. To be consistent with the requirements of the City Charter, the “fill-in” judges will need to be appointed as Deputy Judge by City Council.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The rate of pay for the on-call judges currently is established at $80.00 per hour. There are sufficient funds in the budget to cover these costs.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends a resolution to appoint relief judges to the Brighton Municipal Court according to Chapter 8.2 of the City of Brighton Charter.
OPTIONS FOR COUNCIL CONSIDERATION
1) Approve a proposed resolution and appoint judges as Deputy On-call Judges
2) Give staff further direction
ATTACHMENTS
Proposed Resolution