Judge says Colorado public defender’s response to inmate’s records request was ‘arbitrary and capricious,’ orders $13,650 penalty

CFOIC Executive Director

A judge has ordered the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender to pay a prison inmate a $25-a-day penalty, totaling $13,650, for its “arbitrary and capricious” denial of his request for a policy document.

In a Jan. 13 ruling, Jefferson County District Court Judge Todd Vriesman determined that the public defender’s regional office in Golden is subject to the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act and abused its discretion under the statute by not providing Eric St. George with its official policy regarding whether discovery files can be kept from clients held in pre-trial detention…

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