Thirteenth Judicial District

Posted on July 7, 2008 by Vee Iyer

The Iyer Law Office LLC is pleased to announce that its founder and principal attorney has received a contract by the State of Colorado Judicial Branch to act as court appointed counsel for parents in Dependency and Neglect (D & N) cases for the 13th Judicial District.

The 13th Judicial District covers seven (7) counties - Kit Carson County (Burlington); Logan County (Sterling); Morgan County (Fort Morgan); Phillips County (Holyoke); Sedgwick County (Julesburg); Washington County (Akron); and Yuma County (Wray).

Thirteenth Judicial District Overview

The Thirteenth Judicial District encompasses all of Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Yuma Counties, namely all of northeastern Colorado. It is approximately the size of the state of Massachusetts. Its county seats are Burlington, Sterling, Fort Morgan, Holyoke, Julesburg, Akron and Wray.

The Thirteenth Judicial District serves a population of approximately 70,000 people. There are presently 3,648 cases filed annually in the district courts and 13,110 cases filed annually in the county courts. The caseload is the responsibility of four district judges and seven county judges.
The seven county court judges are responsible for traffic and misdemeanor matters in addition to civil cases that do not exceed the jurisdictional dollar amount of the county court. The bulk of the county court judges’ work is involved in the processing of traffic matters, domestic restraining orders and small civil claims. They also serve as district court magistrates for juvenile and mental health cases.

The four district court judges handle a varied caseload of domestic relations, felony criminal matters, juvenile cases (dependency and neglect and delinquency), probate proceedings, mental health matters, and civil filings which exceed the county court jurisdictional amount.
In addition to the district and county judges, there are approximately thirty-three support staff positions. These positions include clerks of court, division clerks, court clerks, court reporters, collection investigators, probation officers, court administrative officers and probation and administrative employees. Approximately fourteen employees are assigned to the probation department.

The filings in the district courts have been growing as of late in the area of criminal and juvenile delinquency cases. It is anticipated that this trend will continue, particularly with the case filings from a newly opened Department of Corrections facility in Sterling, and private detention facilities in Burlington and Brush.

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Juvenile Menacing

Posted on July 7, 2008 by Vee Iyer

QUESTION:

15 y/o son arrested for threatening another kid with knife, my son says he didn't do this but simply yelled at the kid from about 70 ft away, he had a knife that he was showing his friends. He charged with count 1, menacing F5. No police record, never been arrested before. What are the chances of no jail time and will the judge offer a plea bargain? We cannot find anyone to help and court is on 7/10/08.

ANSWER:

We do these types of cases. You will have to ask for a continuance as I am away in training in Wyoming from July 9 to August 3. The Judge should grant you a continuance till after August 4.

Call on August 4 to discuss your son's case.

Thank you

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Should I Plead Guilty or Not Guilty?

Posted on July 7, 2008 by Vee Iyer

QUESTION:  Should I plead guilty or not guilty?

I was told to plead not guilty in order to have a court appointed attorney from public defender's office since I have low income to have time to prepare for the case.   I admitted of stealing from cash register and signed $2500 civil restitution was then cuffed and charged with felony theft class 4 or 6 I am not sure bail was set at $3000. (I'm not sure how much I stole in a period of 10 weeks I was working there but they estimated without showing me proof just estimation from the nights cash registers were short on nights I was working. I don't deny I did it, but don't think I took that much. my concern is to go to jail and more important losing my other job and not be able to find good employment with felony showing on my records in background checks. I would call an attorney but I cannot afford a lawyer on what I make. my wife is due and I don't want to miss being there at delivery. I am 18 with no prior conviction.

ANSWER:

Let the judge know you want a lawyer and cannot afford one. If eligible you can have the public defender represent you and if the public defender conflicts out Alternate Defense Counsel will be appointed for you by the Court and it is paid by the State - you will not be required to pay this court appointed attorney.

You should never do anything in Court or with the police or prosecutors without help from a good criminal a lawyer.

Best of Luck

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Parents Court Appointed Attorney for Dependency and Neglect Cases

Posted on July 7, 2008 by Vee Iyer

The Iyer Law Office LLC is pleased to announce that its founder and principal attorney has received a contract by the State of Colorado Judicial Branch to act as court appointed counsel for parents in Dependency and Neglect (D & N) cases for the 13th Judicial District.

Dependency and Neglect is also called D&N for short. This is a civil proceeding where the State (Department of Social Services) alleges that one or more parents have failed to properly care for a child that the parent is responsible for.

D & N also includes cases where:

  • the parent has abandoned a child;
  • the parent has mistreated a child;
  • the parent has abused a child;
  • the parent has allowed another to mistreat a child without taking lawful means to stop such mistreatment and prevent it from recurring;
  • the parent has allowed another to abuse a child without taking lawful means to stop such mistreatment and prevent it from recurring;
  • the child lacks proper parental care through actions or omissions of the parent;
  • the environment for the child provided by the parent is injurious to the child's welfare;
  • the parent fails or refuses to provide the child with proper or necessary subsistence, education, medical care, or any other acre necessary for the child's health, guidance, or well-being;
  • the child is homeless through no fault of the parent;
  • the child is without proper care through no fault of the parent;
  • the child is not domiciled with the parent through no fault of the parent;
  • the child has run away from home;
  • the child is beyond the control of the parent;
  • the child tests positive at birth for
    • Schedule - I controlled substance; 
    • Schedule - II controlled substance (but excludes where the positive test result is as a result of mother's lawful intake of such prescribed substance
  • the parent has subjected another child to an identifiable pattern of habitual abuse; and
    • such parent has been the respondent in another D & N proceeding in which a court has adjudicated another child to be neglected or dependent based upon sexual abuse, physical abuse, or a proper court has determined that such parent's abuse or neglect has caused the death of another child; and
    • the identifiable pattern of habitual abuse and the sexual abuse or the physical abuse pose a current threat to the child.

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