A judge has upheld at least 10 convictions ranging from sexual assault on a child to attempted murder, even though transcripts from hearings and trials were not completed on time by a court reporter who said breast cancer interfered with her work.
Former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Anthony Vollack ruled late Tuesday that delays and potential inaccuracies in the transcripts did not hurt the defendants’ rights.
Transcripts in eight cases were either complete or complete enough to allow an appeals court to consider the cases, Vollack ruled. He said transcripts in the other two convictions should be complete within a year.
Vollack’s ruling, made available today, said the delay in the transcripts was lengthy but “special events of preparing the record” justified the holdup.
Court reporter Valerie Barnes has said she could not complete the transcripts because of her cancer. Other court reporters have taken up the work.
Vollack last year cited Barnes for contempt of court. Her appeal of the citation is before the Colorado Court of Appeals, and her attorney, David Lane, said today Vollack’s latest ruling could help her.
“If the work is being done without Valerie Barnes, it doesn’t appear to be an absolute necessity they need her, so why should she be held in contempt?” Lane said. “I think the Court of Appeals wanted to see what the district court wanted to do with these cases before they render a decision.” A defense attorney representing several of the defendants and a spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County district attorney did not immediately return calls.
