ReportWire

Tag: u.s. justice system

  • Denver DA failed to disclose police records in as many as 756 criminal cases

    [ad_1]

    The Denver District Attorney’s Office failed to share police records with defense attorneys in as many as 756 criminal cases since 2022, potentially violating court discovery rules, a probe by the office found.

    The prosecutors’ discovery software for years diverted Denver Police Department files that included a forward slash in the file name into an “error log that prosecutors were not aware of and could not access,” according to a statement from the office this week and notifications sent to defense attorneys in September.

    The misrouted files were not shared with defendants — a potential violation of discovery rules, which require prosecutors to disclose evidence to defendants during a criminal case. The district attorney’s office uncovered what it called a “technical issue” with the software as it reviewed its own practices amid mounting serious sanctions for discovery violations across Colorado.

    It was not immediately clear whether all of the files that were diverted into the error log were required to be disclosed to defendants, DA spokesman Matt Jablow said in a statement. But the office nevertheless notified defense attorneys and started the process of sharing all the files “out of caution and to avoid any delay,” he said.

    “The DA’s office produced the files, even though, in many of those cases… the information appears to have been produced in a different format, may not have been legally required to be produced, or both,” he said in the statement.

    Many of the misplaced files “contained information related to a defendant’s arrest, such as booking photos,” Jablow said. The error log issue most frequently impacted records that included dates in the file names, according to the notification sent to attorneys.

    The impact of the technical glitch will vary from case to case depending on the severity of the case, the information in the undisclosed files and how far along in the legal process the case is, said Colin McCallin, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor.

    Little is likely to change for defendants who have already pleaded guilty and served their sentences in less serious cases, like misdemeanors and petty offenses, he said. But there could be a bigger impact in ongoing prosecutions or more serious cases.

    “Obviously, if the evidence is exculpatory, if it suggests the person didn’t commit the crime, that is a big deal; that can lead to serious sanctions,” McCallin said. “…If it is a minor violation, like, ‘Oh, we didn’t get the person’s full criminal history or mugshot’ — that’s probably not going to be a big deal. I would imagine in most lower-level felony cases or misdemeanor cases, I don’t know if anything will happen at all. A lot of those folks will have moved on.”

    If the undisclosed material includes exculpatory evidence, it could prompt judges to dismiss cases or defendants to seek post-conviction relief, he added. Judges in ongoing cases might also consider sanctions against prosecutors for the discovery violations alone, regardless of what type of evidence was not disclosed, McCallin said.

    “It really does sound like this was a computer issue; it’s not like the DA’s office was sitting on evidence intentionally or purposely withholding evidence,” he said. “I don’t think anyone thinks that. But the problem is, it is still a discovery violation.”

    Angela Campbell, co-chair of the Denver chapter of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, said the district attorney’s public statements about the software issue have inappropriately minimized the potential impact of the discovery violations.

    “The Denver DA’s statement is concerning because it seems to fail to take accountability for the serious discovery violations committed by their office,” she said, adding that defense attorneys are just starting to investigate the missing files and it is too early to know the full impact of the misrouted records.

    “Nobody is saying that every single discovery violation was tantamount to a Brady violation — a failure to produce exculpatory evidence — but minimizing the discovery violations that occurred, first of all by saying, ‘Well, it was over 756 cases’ — they’re not just cases. These are 756 human beings,” she said. “People, presumably, who went to prison and endured serious consequences for what may or may not have been material discovery violations that would have impacted the cases. The truth is, right now, that I don’t think we know. And I don’t think they know.”

    [ad_2]

    Shelly Bradbury

    Source link

  • Colorado juvenile detention staff violated strip-search policy 1,000 times in 9 months, watchdog finds

    [ad_1]

    Staff at Colorado’s juvenile detention centers violated policies meant to protect youth during strip searches more than 1,000 times during nine months between 2023 and 2025, according to a new review by the Child Protection Ombudsman of Colorado released Tuesday.

    There is no effective oversight to ensure strip searches at juvenile detention centers are justified and properly documented, the review found, and the vast majority of youth strip searches did not reveal any contraband, raising questions about how Colorado Division of Youth Services staff members are using the invasive procedure.

    In one instance, five youth in a detention center were strip-searched because one of them might have been charging a vape pen in a computer classroom, the review found. In another instance, a 14-year-old boy was held in a room by himself for more than 10 hours until he consented to a strip search. Another time, a youth was strip-searched three times in one day because staff believed he possessed drug paraphernalia, the report found.

    Nothing was found during any of those searches, the office reported.

    AnneMarie Harper, a spokeswoman for the Division of Youth Services, said in a statement Tuesday that the agency would investigate the ombudsman’s findings.

    “When it comes to searches of youth in our care, DYS staff is trained to balance personal privacy while also taking a trauma-informed approach,” she said. “These efforts help to make sure that dangerous materials and substances that could put all youth and staff at risk are not in our facilities.”

    The ombudsman’s office discovered 1,006 policy violations across 1,009 youth strip searches statewide during three three-month stretches in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Division of Youth Services staff members failed to document supervisor approval for searches, conducted searches with just one staff member present when two are required, and failed to clearly document the reasons for searches or the results, according to the report.

    “When you are talking about the strip search of youth, we have to be incredibly careful that we are documenting every detail and trying to treat these youth as safely as possible,” said Stephanie Villafuerte, the child protection ombudsman.

    ‘Reasonable suspicion’ for search

    About 2,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 21 are housed at juvenile detention centers statewide, according to the report. They are strip-searched when they arrive at the facilities, after visits with family, and after returning to the detention centers from court or other appointments. But they are also subject to strip searches when a staff member has “reasonable suspicion” to believe a juvenile might have contraband.

    The ombudsman’s review focused only on those searches for reasonable suspicion, which the report noted is “arguably the most subjective” reason for a search, a process during which youth fully undress and an adult staff member looks at their naked body.

    The practice is inherently traumatic, even when done completely within policy, the report noted. Youth who are committed to a detention center are more likely than other juveniles to have suffered abuse and neglect, and strip searches can retraumatize them.

    “Strip searches are traumatizing for anyone, and perhaps particularly for teenagers,” said Jessica Feierman, senior managing director at Juvenile Law Center. “They are very aware of their bodies, their bodies are changing, so it is a moment where a strip search can have unique harm.”

    Strip searches should be used sparingly, she said, and ideally not at all — alternatives like handheld metal detectors or airport-style body scanners can often be just as effective at revealing contraband, Feierman said.

    The sheer number of strip searches of Colorado youth, the missing documentation about how the searches were conducted and why, and the low amount of contraband recovered raise concern, she said.

    “All of those things suggest a heavy overreliance on strip searches, even though they are so harmful to young people,” she said.

    On average, DYS staff members found contraband in just 10% of the 1,009 strip searches for reasonable suspicion that the ombudsman’s office reviewed.

    That low percentage suggests that detention center staff are misusing strip searches, said Dana Flores, senior manager for youth justice in Colorado at the National Center for Youth Law.

    “The report indicates that DYS staff are treating strip searches as a mechanism to assert power and control, and that is not rehabilitative,” she said. “That is just an abuse of discretion by adults who are supposed to be providing trauma-informed care to young people we know have already experienced trauma. If only 10% are turning up contraband, and that is the rationale behind strip searches… there must be a motivation for staff to keep doing this that goes above and beyond simply seeking contraband.”

    Contraband — in particular, cocaine and fentanyl — is a ubiquitous problem across Colorado’s youth detention centers, she added, noting that kids who are jailed often search for ways to escape reality. Strip searches of youth don’t address the big-picture problem, she said.

    “That ultimately isn’t going to address the root cause of the problem, which is that this youth has access to contraband,” she said. “So you could strip search a kid on Monday and find drugs on their person — the larger question is what are you doing to provide that young person with the appropriate behavioral health treatment and education to address what may be a substance abuse disorder?”

    ‘We don’t have documentation’

    Division of Youth Services workers document strip searches in handwritten logs, the review found. That log is supposed to include information on when the search was conducted, who approved and carried out the search, the purpose of the search and the outcome.

    However, the Child Protection Ombudsman’s review found the information in the log was often missing, Villafuerte said.

    “We don’t know whether these searches are being conducted in a way that is incorrect, because we don’t have documentation,” she said. “Oftentimes, we don’t know who conducted the search, we don’t know if one or more people were present, we don’t know the underlying reasonable suspicion behind the reason to search. Without having the information, it makes it incredibly difficult to understand whether these searches are being conducted in a way that is effective, and if not, what can we do to make them effective.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Colorado public defender ransomware attack may have exposed Social Security numbers, personal data

    Colorado public defender ransomware attack may have exposed Social Security numbers, personal data

    [ad_1]

    The Office of the Colorado State Public Defender has acknowledged personal data may have been stolen during a ransomware attack that crippled the statewide agency in early February — but won’t say much else about the ongoing effort to restore its systems after the hack.

    Files “were copied without permission” during the cyberattack, which was discovered on Feb. 9, and those files may have included names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, medical information and health insurance information, the agency said in a statement Friday.

    Officials from the public defender’s office are still investigating whose personal data may have been stolen, and whether the personal data of attorneys or their clients was compromised, they said. A statement on the agency’s website urges “individuals” to remain vigilant against identity theft and fraud.

    It’s been more than a month since public defenders across the state were locked out of their computers and files in the ransomware attack and hundreds of court hearings were delayed over the next week because public defenders couldn’t do their jobs.

    Officials this week refused to answer questions from The Denver Post about what particular parts of the agency’s systems remain inoperable. In a ransomware attack, hackers use malware to hold an organization’s data hostage then demand a payment in cryptocurrency in order for organizations to regain access to that data.

    The public defender’s office also would not disclose the amount of ransom demanded or whether a ransom was paid. A statement on the agency’s website says the office has “made progress in returning to full operations.”

    Heavily redacted emails and text messages released to The Post by the Governor’s Office of Information Technology this week in response to an open records request mention the cyberattack recovery law firm Mullen Coughlin. Chief Deputy Public Defender Zak Brown would not confirm whether the public defender’s office is working with the firm.

    “We have provided all the information we are able to at this time,” he said in an email.

    A message left with the Pennsylvania-based law firm was not returned Wednesday.

    [ad_2]

    Shelly Bradbury

    Source link

  • Cyberattack shuts down Colorado public defender’s office

    Cyberattack shuts down Colorado public defender’s office

    [ad_1]

    A cyberattack on the Office of Colorado State Public Defender has forced the office to shut down its computer network, locking public defenders across the state out of critical work systems.

    Colorado public defenders do not have access to their work computers, are unable to access court dockets or court filings and can’t do any significant work for clients in court, according to internal emails reviewed by The Denver Post.

    Office spokesman James Karbach confirmed the breach in a statement Monday, saying officials “recently became aware that some data within our computer system was encrypted by malware.”

    Karbach did not say how long the public defender’s office expects to be shut down or when the attack happened, but emails sent to public defenders indicate the statewide office is effectively “non-operational” and the outage could last as long as a week.

    [ad_2]

    Shelly Bradbury

    Source link