Re: “” April 29 editorial.
In its dismissal of House Bill 1309, which provides basic legal protection for the poorest defendants in Colorado’s municipal courts, the Denver Post’s editorial board parroted arguments made to the legislature by the Colorado Municipal League that were summarily rejected by the nearly three-fourths majority of lawmakers who sent the bill to the governor’s desk.
HB 1309 ensures counsel for impoverished municipal inmates who face a possible jail sentence when they first appear before a judge. State and county courts already provide counsel in precisely these circumstances, but most municipal courts refuse, even though the Supreme Court has ruled that first appearance is a “critical stage” where the right to counsel attaches.
Most municipal inmates face a terrible choice at first appearance. They can either plead guilty without counsel and be released that day, or ask for counsel and go back to jail to wait usually more than a week for the next court appearance. This is particularly cruel because most municipal defendants are jailed for minor offenses, such as park hours violations, sleeping in a car, or dog off leash. It is no wonder that almost all municipal inmates simply plead guilty at first appearance to get out of jail, even if they are innocent.
In Colorado Springs, the ACLU of Colorado found hundreds of cases where unrepresented defendants pleaded guilty to violating the city’s solicitation ordinance, even though they had not violated the law. A competent defense lawyer would have prevented those pleas.
Cities have many ways to avoid costs associated with this bill. If cities waive jail for municipal violations or release defendants from custody by first appearance, then they have no obligations under this bill. Some rural communities have already adopted practices that avoid all costs associated with this bill by rendering all municipal offenses non-jailable and charging more serious offenses under state law.
It is only when cities actively seek to punish municipal defendants with a jail sentence, and hold those defendants in jail pre-trial, that the bill requires any expenditures.
If municipalities choose to send someone to jail, then they should bear the same costs of providing indigent defense as the state provides.
Rebecca T. Wallace is staff attorney and policy counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado.
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