1519B4932C52917E872583D10071733B Hearing Summary

Senators Bridges and Marble explained SB19-191, concerning defendants' rights related to pretrial bond.  Senator Bridges summarized the stakeholder process and proposed amendments.   Senator Marble discussed taxpayer savings. 

Jeff Clayton, representing the American Bail Coalition, spoke in support of the bill.  He discussed hearing times, delays, processing fees, and the intercept of cash deposits. 

Tom Raynes, representing the Colorado District Attorneys' Council, spoke against the bill.   He expressed concerns about the 48 hour rule, and the need for associated infrastructure, mechanisms, and alternatives. 

Discussion followed about district attorneys pursuing those with failure to appear warrants. 

Major Stephanie McManus, representing the Denver Sheriff's Office, spoke in opposition to the bill as currently written.  She raised concerns about the realistic application of the bill and the time frames involved. 

Denise Maes, representing the ACLU of Colorado, spoke in support of the bill.  She distibuted a handout outlining support for the bill (Attachment G) and noted that the proposed forthcoming amendments will take care of some of the concerns raised by the Denver Sheriff's Office. 

Helen Griffiths, representing the ACLU of Colorado, spoke in favor of the measure.  She stressed that it saves taxpayer money,

Rebecca Wallace, representing the ACLU of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. She discussed time frames and presumption of innocence factors.

Maureen Cain, representing the Office of the State Public Defender, testified in support of the bill. She discussed her work on the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice pre-trial task force.  She provided an example where someone was held in jail for over 24 hours after posting bond. She answered questions about logistics and background checks.  

The committee asked questions about extending certain time frames based on factors such as mental health or intoxication.

Tristan Gorman, representing the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, testified in support of the bill. She discussed personal recognizance bonds and reasonable time limits to hold someone between arrest and bond set.

Eva Frickel, representing the Colorado Freedom Fund, testified in support of the bill. She talked about posting bonds and processing delays. 

Elisabeth Epps, representing the Colorado Freedom Fund, testified in favor of the bill.  She discussed the importance of achieving prompt pretrial liberty and fairness.

Andrew O'Connor, representing himself, spoke in support of the bill. He discussed his work as a public defender in Sante Fe and suggested that judges should be on-call to release pre-trial detainees more expeditiously.  

Rob Southey, representing Bankers Insurance Company, testified in support of the bill. He discussed bond hearings, targeting the correct population, and forfeiting funds.

Senators Bridges and Marble distributed and explained amendments L. 001- L. 008 (Attachments H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O).