Powell focus of ACLU report

MONTE VISTA—A woman missed the first two months of her son’s life and was jailed at a cost of $2,160 to taxpayers for failing to appear in Judge Dan Powell’s Monte Vista Municipal Court, according to a report released by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Thursday, Oct. 5.


“Justice Derailed: A case study of abusive and unconstitutional practices in Colorado city courts” is a multi-year investigation of the state’s more than 200 municipal courts. The study primarily focuses on the Alamosa Municipal Court stating that Powell’s practices “systematically violate the constitutional rights of its mainly impoverished criminal defendants.”


The ACLU alleges that Powell’s courtroom practices, “lengthy waits in jail due to the court’s infrequent schedule, refusal to release incarcerated defendants when they are finally able to appear, and an unwillingness to acknowledge that some failures to appear are beyond a defendant’s control and not deserving in punishment,” may also be occurring in the Monte Vista Municipal Court.


While the study acknowledges it has not been able to closely study the workings of the Monte Vista court it alleges there is evidence of the same “disturbing practices.” To back up their assertion the ACLU provided one brief case from the local court.


A defendant referred to as “R.A.” allegedly failed to appear at a November 2016 trial due to being in labor. Powell issued a bench warrant for her failure to infant son was six days old. There was a bond set at $1,000 which the ACLU states she was too poor to pay. As a result she remained in jail for 22 days, until the next session of the Monte Vista Municipal Court, which only meets two days out of every month.


“R.A” explained the reason for her failure to appear to Powell who refused to release her on a personal recognizance bond. Powell reduced her bond to $500, re-scheduled her for trial 35 days later, and according to the ACLU, without having a discussion about her ability to pay. The defendant was unable to pay and remained in jail until January 2017 solely on a municipal hold.


“Because of her poverty and Judge Powell’s apparent disregard for R.A.’s irrefutably valid excuse for failure to appear, she spent 58 days in jail and missed out on the first two months of her baby’s life. This senseless detention cost taxpayers $2,160,” states Justice Derailed.


The report makes recommendations for the state legislature to improve municipal courts. This includes reporting requirements, establishing an independent public defender system, assessing ability-to-pay, requiring courts to have sentences fit the crime and economic status and creating a statewide study-group to monitor court practices and make recommendations to combat injustices.


As of Monday afternoon, the court dockets for this week in Alamosa and for two Tuesdays in Monte Vista have been canceled, with all cases to be continued to a later date.

City response
Monte Vista City manager Forrest Neuerburg offered the following statement. “Late last week, the city of Monte Vista received the ACLU report regarding Judge Dan Powell’s practices. We are disturbed by these accusations. The city will open up an investigation in regards to the conduct of the Monte Vista Municipal Court and will take action as necessary.”


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