BOULDER, Colo.—A request for a new judge from a Boulder County man awaiting sentencing on a child abuse conviction in his infant son’s death was based on speculation and conclusions not supported by fact, prosecutors said this week.
Alex Midyette, 29, last month filed a motion asking for a new judge, claiming Boulder County District Judge Lael Montgomery was biased against him. He said Montgomery “sidestepped” the law by arresting him on a suspected bond violation, then set an excessive bail amount on the new charge.
Boulder Chief Deputy District Attorney Ken Kupfner wrote in a response Monday that Midyette’s allegations are based on “speculation, opinions and conclusions, all of which are unsupported by fact.”
Midyette was convicted of child abuse in February in the 2006 death of his son, Jason.
He was free on $1.5 million bond awaiting sentencing when he was arrested March 20 on suspicion of violating his bond conditions. Authorities allege he interacted with children while dating a woman who runs a Montessori school at her home in Jefferson County.
Montgomery set new bond amounts for Midyette totaling $20 million—$10 million for the original conviction and $10 million for the alleged bond violation.
Midyette’s attorneys called that figure “the highest bond in the history of Colorado for such an offense.”
Kupfner responded that convicted felons don’t have a right to bond at all.
“It was within the court’s discretion to deny bond in its entirety,” Kupfner wrote.
Midyette’s attorneys also alleged the judge had “secret” meetings with prosecutors about Midyette’s alleged bond violation.
But Kupfner said judges are required to review all warrant requests before signing off on them, and there’s no evidence Montgomery did anything wrong.
“The speculation defendant asserts here … shows nothing more than that a warrant was signed for a new bond violation case, and that another warrant was signed upon the initial bond violation for this case,” he wrote. “That both of these actions occurred when defendant violated his post-conviction bond does not—in any way, shape or form—establish a bias of the court.”
Montgomery declined to comment Tuesday, while Midyette remained at the Boulder County jail.
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Information from: Daily Camera,
