DENVER—A sweeping change that limits prosecutors’ ability to charge some Colorado juveniles as adults was signed into law Friday.
Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the law, which reverses an expansion of power that lawmakers granted to prosecutors after highly publicized gang shootings in 1993, known in Denver as the “Summer of Violence.”
Supporters of the bill said prosecutors are charging too many juveniles as adults for mid-level felonies and using the threat of filing serious charges to plea bargain. The result, supporters say, is that juveniles are left with lifelong felony records that make it difficult to get jobs or housing later.
The new law limits prosecutors’ power to charge youths as adults to only the most serious felonies, like murder and violent sex crimes. It also requires judges to review a district attorney’s decision to charge a juvenile as an adult.
Colorado is among a handful of states where prosecutors can charge juveniles as adults without judicial review under a process known as “direct file.”
Opponents of the bill said more than two dozen states have mandatory transfers to adult court for some crimes. In 2008, Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter, who previously served as Denver district attorney, vetoed a bill that would have allowed judges to review prosecutors’ adult charging decisions in juvenile cases.
Many prosecutors and Attorney General John Suthers opposed the bill, disputing the charge that district attorneys are abusing their power.
Despite the opposition, Hickenlooper signed the bill into law Friday, the 13th anniversary of the shootings at Columbine High School.
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House Bill 1271:
