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Colorado Court Records
Colorado Specialty Court

What Are Colorado Specialty Courts?

Colorado problem-solving courts provide a non-traditional approach to integrating treatment provision and criminal justice case processing. These courts work in close alliance with multidisciplinary teams such as members of the judicial treatment communities to offer accountability and treatment and services to offenders in order to reduce substance abuse and recidivism. Other goals of the Colorado Specialty courts include:

To minimize jail and prison crowding issues;
To reduce crime;
To increase the effective management of mental illness among the substance abusing and dependent participants of its programs;
To advance the effective integration of resources from the courts, justice system personnel, and community agencies and to expand collaboration among all agencies;
To assist participants in achieving long-term sobriety, maintain recovery, improve their lives and their families’ lives, and become useful members of their communities.

There are over 75 problem-solving courts in the 22 judicial districts in Colorado. Programs offered by Colorado problem-solving courts include:

Adult Drug Courts;
Juvenile Drug Courts;
DUI Courts
Adult and Juvenile Mental Health Courts;
Family and Dependency/Neglect Courts
Veteran’s Treatment Courts

Also referred to as specialty, treatment, collaborative, or accountability courts, problem-solving courts address specific needs and problems of offenders that, for one reason or another, could or were not satisfactorily addressed in traditional courts. Some of such matters include addiction issues, mental illness, and domestic violence. These courts aim to promote outcomes that will benefit all concerned parties; the offender, the victim, and society. Colorado problem-solving courts work toward striking a balance between several points of tension:

Victim needs vs. offender rights;
Therapeutic vs. retributive goals of justice;
The desire to rehabilitate offenders vs. the need to protect members of the public

Colorado problem-solving courts share common traits such as:

Evidence-based practices—Specialty courts adopt practices that have been tested in real-life scenarios and proven by broad research to be effective.
Focus on outcomes—These courts are designed to provide positive case outcomes for offenders, victims, and society.
Collaboration—Specialty court develop partnerships with external parties to achieve set goals
Non-traditional roles—Courts and court personnel assume roles or processes not common in traditional courts. For instance, some specialty courts are less adversarial than standard criminal justice processing.
Screening and Assessment—Identification of appropriate individuals for special court programs are based on screening and assessment tools.

Colorado specialty courts operate an integrated, team-based structure that holds participants accountable and helps in their recovery, unlike what obtains from the regular supervision and treatment. These problem-solving courts are special court dockets. Participants in a specialty court program participate voluntarily and agree to follow the laid-down rules of the specific programs. To achieve the goals of the specialty court programs:

Probation officers or case managers closely supervise participants;
Participates are tested for drugs or alcohol randomly and frequently;
Participants are subjected to frequent home and probation officer/case manager visits;
Participants are engaged in enhanced or intensive drug treatment, and other treatments deemed necessary;
Participants are assisted in their compliance with efforts to achieve stability; and
Participants must visit the court at least twice a week (However, this may vary depending on the participant’s progress in the court program)

Before a problem-solving court docket, the court team meets to discuss those appearing on the docket. This team generally includes;

The judicial officer
Probation officer
Deputy district attorney or deputy public defender
Substance abuse and mental health treatment provider
Case manager
The court coordinator
Any other persons essential to the operation of the court (e.g., Guardian ad Litem, Child Support Enforcement Agency, Department of Human Services, Military Installations.)

During the meeting, and even before, the members exchange information concerning each person on the docket and discuss the participant’s compliance, successes, challenges, and other life circumstances that affect the participant’s progress. The team collaborates to adapt a joint response to the participant’s compliance or non-compliant behavior. In the course of the court session, participants receive incentives or sanctions based on their behaviors and conduct during the past fortnight or month.

A specialty court’s effectiveness is directly connected to the quantity and quality of information shared by the court team, the quality of treatment, the commitment and devotion of the team, the frequent contact with a compassionate yet resolute judicial officer, the random and frequent use of drug and alcohol testing, and the effective use incentives and sanctions. Positive outcomes are also engendered by collaboration between the city and the community in which the program occurs. Such collaborative activities include ancillary services such as housing, employment training and assistance, and financial aid. Specialty court programs may take up to two years or more to complete.