{"id":806042,"date":"2020-04-03T18:24:49","date_gmt":"2020-04-04T00:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=381406"},"modified":"2020-04-03T18:24:49","modified_gmt":"2020-04-04T00:24:49","slug":"summit-county-courts-go-virtual-officials-work-to-reduce-prison-populations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/summit-county-courts-go-virtual-officials-work-to-reduce-prison-populations\/","title":{"rendered":"Summit County courts go virtual, officials work to reduce prison populations"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/SummitJail-SDN-080118-2-2.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-338739\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/SummitJail-SDN-080118-2-2.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/SummitJail-SDN-080118-2-2-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/SummitJail-SDN-080118-2-2-325x218.jpg 325w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption><strong>One of the holding cells at the Summit County Detention Facility in Breckenridge. The jail population has been reduced by half over the past month. <\/strong><br \/><em>Hugh Carey \/ Summit Daily<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>BRECKENRIDGE \u2014 While the dark cloud of <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"speedy trial issues continue to loom overhead (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/covid-19-shutdown-creating-constitutional-dilemma-in-colorado-courts\/\">speedy trial issues looms overhead<\/a>, representatives of the area\u2019s justice system continue to take additional steps to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.<\/p>\n<p>That includes potentially helping some felons get out of prison early, according to officials. Last week, Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order to temporarily suspend some regulatory statutes regarding prisoners to help keep incarcerated populations healthy.<\/p>\n<p>Fifth Judicial District Attorney Bruce Brown said it\u2019s the first time in his career as a prosecutor that he\u2019s initiated proceedings to free an inmate from prison, the early stages of what he said could be hundreds of releases.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m talking with the director of the parole board to establish that,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIt\u2019s a collaborative process at a local and state level, and getting agencies to try and work quickly and effectively to decrease prison populations. \u2026 I\u2019d expect over the coming months, we\u2019d have released inmates in the low hundreds.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation sd-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/sdn-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Brown noted that several of the state\u2019s prisons already are facing overpopulation, within 1% of their max populations. The goal is to reduce those numbers to lower the chances of the COVID-19 virus spreading if it does make its way into detentions facilities.<\/p>\n<p>The Colorado Department of Corrections \u2014 which oversees the state\u2019s prison operations \u2014 already has reported that at least three employees have tested positive for COVID-19, though no inmates have tested positive so far.<\/p>\n<p>Brown said individuals like himself and the Colorado State Board of Parole are largely looking at individuals who were sentenced to prison over the past few years on lower-level felonies to see if they pose a public safety risk, or if they might be eligible for release. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Of course, many individuals currently serving prison sentences are doing so because they represent public safety risks. There are others \u2014 even individuals with felony convictions \u2014 that might fit the bill, including individuals incarcerated on drug convictions, property crimes and people with past probation violations.<\/p>\n<p>Individuals who are nearing the end of their sentence could see their parole hearings pushed up, and other inmates no longer will be required to complete what used to be requisite in-prison programs for diversion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe key component for me is helping the parole board by giving them information on offenders, where they might not know as much about their background as we do, and may not have the Summit County community perspective for these people,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe can give them information so they don\u2019t release people back into the community who are likely to cause harm to other people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the push to free inmates from Department of Corrections is relatively new, county jails around the state have been actively working to reduce their own populations for weeks, including in Summit County.<\/p>\n<p>Even before the outbreak began in Colorado, detentions officials already were <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"screening new arrestees for symptoms of COVID-19 (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/summit-countys-first-responders-outline-plans-to-prepare-for-prevent-a-local-covid-19-outbreak\/\">screening new arrestees for symptoms of COVID-19<\/a>. Grouped with concerted efforts from the area\u2019s law enforcement to serve summons in lieu of arrests, and judges and attorneys pushing to get individuals out on bond, the population has dropped dramatically.<\/p>\n<p>On March 3, there were 50 inmates in the Summit County Detention Facility. That number dropped to 26 by March 25.<\/p>\n<p>Brown noted that some individuals who were close to finishing their jail sentences would be let out early while others would be converted to electronic monitoring (ankle monitors) or furloughed \u2014 released and asked to come back at a later date, similar to a stay some might see on their initial sentence before being incarcerated.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve decreased jail populations by about 50%,\u201d 5th Judicial District Chief Judge Mark Thompson said. \u201cWe\u2019re really being proactive to keep our jails clean and free from this virus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to lowering inmate populations at jails and prisons, officials are also making changes to their daily operations to help mitigate person-to-person contact.<\/p>\n<p>The District Attorney\u2019s office has temporarily lifted the restrictions on who is allowed to enter <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"guilty pleas by mail (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.da5.us\/guilty-plea-by-mail\/\" target=\"_blank\">guilty pleas by mail<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>, court staff has been reduced to a skeleton crew, and judges have transferred any hearings they\u2019re allowed to telephone or video.<\/p>\n<p>Thompson said the courts were set to begin experimenting with a new \u201cvirtual courtroom\u201d next week, which would see judges, defendants and attorneys all streaming together face-to-face, at least on screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s as close to a virtual courtroom as we can get, giving everyone the opportunity to be heard while still trying to keep everybody safe and isolated throughout this process,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cSo we\u2019ll see how Monday goes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s clear the COVID-19 pandemic has put immense pressure on the criminal justice system to keep things moving.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been through civil unrest, mass fires and earthquakes, and I\u2019ve seen court systems adopt and adjust to the demands of those extraordinary events,\u201d Brown said. \u201cBut I\u2019ve never seen a virus like this. It\u2019s very hard to keep people safe, and we don\u2019t know how long it could go on for. It\u2019s a unique circumstance, and it\u2019s tested my entire staff and the entire court system in ways we could not have envisioned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/summit-county-courts-go-virtual-officials-work-to-reduce-prison-populations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the holding cells at the Summit County Detention Facility in Breckenridge. The jail population has been reduced by half over the past month. Hugh Carey \/ Summit Daily BRECKENRIDGE \u2014 While the dark cloud of speedy trial issues looms overhead, representatives of the area\u2019s justice system continue to take additional steps to help [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-806042","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-17 07:33:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806042"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806042\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}