Recent suspension of trials due to COVID-19 complicates already-busy 2022 Boulder County court calendar

When the coronavirus pandemic first hit Boulder County in spring 2020, the 20th Judicial District was forced to put a pause to jury trials for about six months, leading to a backlog of cases that judges and attorneys have been trying to wade through for almost two years.

As the calendar turned to 2022, attorneys were hoping for a year without any delays in order to begin to clear the docket of cases, some of which have been pending for years.

But just three days into the new year, judges across the Front Range began to suspend jury trials again, due to rising case numbers and the surge in the new omicron variant. For the third time since the start of the pandemic, Boulder Chief District Judge Ingrid Bakke called a halt to jury trials.

“Even before the most recent suspension due to COVID, it was going to be an incredibly busy year,” Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said. “Our staff has been working incredibly hard to get though the backlog to ensure we did not have to dismiss cases due to the pandemic.”

Bakke has already extended the jury suspension once, and it is slated to end Feb. 11, with jury trials possibly beginning again by Feb. 14.

Dougherty said the growing backlog of cases and the resulting delay in getting cases to trial has negative impacts both in attorneys’ ability to juggle their increasingly busy calendars with those of witnesses and the reliability of witness testimony.

“It has a negative impact on cases when cases drag along,” Dougherty said. “Every delay is difficult for victims, witnesses and the accused.”

But Dougherty added, “As much as I am concerned about the delays, I don’t disagree with the decision.”

“Boulder is not alone in suspending trials,” Dougherty said. “As much as the backlog of cases and the delay is extremely difficult, the chief judge is doing the best she can to balance the health of the community with a commitment to moving cases along.”

Boulder managing public defender Nicole Collins also said it was not surprising to see the trial suspension, especially following the holidays and the ensuing spike in case numbers.

“You’re seeing it in every part of life,” Collins said of the impacts of the new variant. “You have to balance your clients’ constitutional rights with health and safety and what the numbers and experts are saying.”

Collins said she actually felt the backlog in cases could have been much worse given the length of the pandemic, but said courts did a good job of making judges available to try and get through cases while jury trials were allowed.

“I don’t think it’s as bad as people were expecting,” Collins said.

Collins, who was one of the attorneys involved in the first felony case tried post-COVID, also noted attorneys and court staff have come a long way since trials first resumed under the new health and safety protocols.

“It’s not as bad as the first time around; we’ve had some experience,” Collins said.

Collins also said the outlook is much less bleak than the early days of the pandemic, before a vaccine was available and when experts were not sure what the future had in store. Even if the current suspension is extended, Collins thinks they have some leeway before things get too severe.

“If we can get through a six-month suspension, I think we can make it through a two- or three-month suspension,” Collins said.

But even before the jury trial suspension, it was going to be a busy year for the District Attorney’s Office, with more than 10 first-degree murder defendants still in the system and many other serious felony cases waiting in the wings. Due to the length and number of potential jurors involved in violent felony cases, Dougherty said getting through those cases can be difficult.

“It was going to be an incredibly busy year, and that remains the case — and this delay does not help,” Dougherty said. “We’ve had a number of major cases that have been delayed, and at the same time new cases coming through the door that include violent offenses.”

But Dougherty said, “This is just the reality we all face right now.”

“We’re living through an extraordinarily trying time with the pandemic,” Dougherty said. “I think we will just have to continue to do the best we can. At some point, we’re going to get through this challenge, and the justice system will get rolling again.

“We just have to weather this storm.”

Pending Boulder County murder cases

Ahmad Alissa is charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and numerous other counts in a mass shooting at a King Soopers grocery store in south Boulder on March 22, 2021. Alissa is undergoing restoration efforts at the state hospital.

Brandon Bohler is charged with first-degree murder after deliberation in the death of Richard Reeves. Bohler pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and is set for a review hearing on Feb. 9 following an evaluation.

Garrett Coughlin, accused of murdering Wallace White, Kelly Sloat-White and Emory Fraker in Coal Creek Canyon, was convicted on three counts of felony murder in 2019. But his conviction was later overturned on appeal. The District Attorney’s Office has appealed the ruling to overturn the verdict, and the case remains in appeals court and is set for oral arguments in March.

Robert Hicks is charged with first-degree murder after deliberation in the death of Curtis Stringe, 34, of Boulder. Hicks is scheduled for a 10-day trial starting July 11.

Juan Jose Figueroa Jr. was indicted by a grand jury on counts of first-degree murder after deliberation, felony murder and second-degree kidnapping in the disappearance and presumed death of Rita Gutierrez-Garcia. Figueroa is set for trial starting May 9.

James Michael Kramer is charged with first-degree murder extreme indifference after reportedly causing a fatal wreck in Longmont after fleeing a police stop in a stolen vehicle. He is set for a preliminary hearing Feb. 8.

Daniel Lopez is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Thomas “TJ” Lopez outside their Longmont home in September 2018. Lopez underwent restoration efforts at the state hospital and was deemed competent to proceed, but was sent back to the hospital after he was deemed once again incompetent to stand trial in December.

Zachary Miller is charged with first-degree murder after deliberation, felony murder and robbery in the death of Christophe

r Havens in October 2020. He was deemed incompetent to proceed and is going through restoration efforts.

Okey Payne is charged with first-degree murder after deliberation in the death of Ricardo Medina-Rojas. He was deemed incompetent to proceed, and is undergoing restoration efforts at the state hospital.

Devan Schreiner and Andrew James Ritchie are both charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Jason Schaefer, who was shot and killed in Longmont in October while on his postal delivery route. Schreiner and Ritche are set for a joint three-week trial starting June 6.

Stephen Wolf is charged with first-degree murder after deliberation and felony murder in the death of Jeffrey Michael Lynch in Fourmile Canyon in the summer of 2019. Wolf was declared incompetent to proceed, but is still awaiting transfer to the state hospital for restoration efforts.