DENVER—A controversial proposal that would limit district attorneys’ ability to prosecute teenagers as adults could face some changes in the Senate this week.
District attorneys oppose House Bill 1208, which is up for its first hearing in the Senate on Wednesday. Backers fear it could face a veto by Gov. Bill Ritter, the former Denver district attorney, unless it’s changed.
Under a law enacted after a summer of gang violence in 1993, district attorneys can decide on their own whether offenders as young as 14 should be prosecuted as adults.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Brandon Shaffer of Longmont and Rep. Claire Levy of Boulder, both Democrats, would prevent district attorneys from filing adult charges against 14- and 15-year-olds.
DAs could still file adult charges against teens 16 and older, but the defendants could ask a judge to move their case to juvenile court. The teen’s lawyer would have the burden of proving why the case should be transferred.
Shaffer said he’s working on possible changes to attract more support but declined to give any details.
Levy has met with Ritter and said she’s worried he may not support it.
Ritter’s spokesman Evan Dreyer said the governor hasn’t taken a position on the bill. It’s rare for him to publicly weigh in on pending legislation.
Levy thinks prosecutors have been too quick to prosecute juveniles as adults, saddling them with criminal records when they’re released. Juvenile records, by contrast, remain sealed.
She said the 1993 law was reaction to a high youth crime rate tied to crack cocaine, and that research since then has shown that teens don’t always think through the consequences of their actions.
Levy said bill would still allow juveniles to be prosecuted as adults.
“The issue isn’t to be soft on crime. The issue is who makes the decision,” she said.
Ted Tow, executive director of the Colorado District Attorneys Council, said before the law was changed judges rarely agreed to transfer cases to the adult system. Tow said he believes judges thought the lighter sentences possible in the juvenile system were be in the best interest of the teens.
Tow said public safety and the treatment and services available in the Youth Offender System need to be considered in deciding how juveniles are prosecuted.
If juveniles complete the youth offender program, he said, they usually won’t have to serve time in a regular prison.
Tow, a former Adams County district attorney, said only about 1 percent of the teens charged with felonies are prosecuted as adults.
Elsewhere this week:
— Gov. Bill Ritter plans to sign Senate Bill 82 on Monday allowing liquor stores to open on Sundays.
— On Wednesday, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee Senate Bill 211, which would require drivers to have at least $25,000 in medical coverage in their car insurance policies. Medical coverage hasn’t been required since the state abandoned its no-fault insurance system in 2003. Since then, hospitals and ambulance services have complained more bills have gone unpaid. Opponents say requiring medical coverage is unfair to drivers who already have health insurance policies that would cover their hospital bills from a car accident.
