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Federal court

A federal courthouse in Durango will benefit the city, all who use the system

It was good news earlier this week when a spokesman announced federal courts will make it a policy to hold criminal trials and hearings related to Southwest Colorado in Durango. That cemented the agreement reached earlier between La Plata County and the U.S. General Services Administration to move federal court offices into the La Plata County Courthouse.

The move should benefit downtown Durango with improved business. But the more critical benefit will be to those involved with the federal system, whether as defendants, plaintiffs, witnesses or officers of the court.

Without a facility in Durango, federal court appearances mean traveling to Denver. For anyone whose presence is required multiple times, that means either costly hotel stays or multiple trips back and forth. And with Denver more than 350 miles from Durango, costs in time and money, not to mention inconvenience, wear and tear, add up quickly.

That burden has disproportionately fallen on Native Americans. While crimes committed by non-Natives in Indian Country are handled by state courts, the federal courts have extensive involvement even with relatively minor offenses committed by Indians on reservations. In that Colorado’s only two Indian reservations – the Southern Utes in Ignacio and the Ute Mountain Utes in Towoac – are in Southwest Colorado, the location of a federal court in Durango only makes sense. And it should greatly reduce the inconvenience imposed on all involved.

Not every case that has anything to do with Southwest Colorado will be disposed of here. As Clerk of the Colorado District Court Jeffery P. Colwell, said in a news release, “Trials will have to make sense to be held in Durango, with input from the U.S. attorney and U.S. Marshall Office, as well as the defendant’s circumstances. If the crime was committed in Denver, and they fled to Durango, the trial would still be held in Denver.”

Fair enough. But with a federal court here, those trials that rightfully should be held here at least could be. That is a welcome change, and one that has been in the works for some time.

Durango has had a U.S. District courtroom in Bodo Industrial Park for more than 10 years. And it sporadically has seen trials held there. But the building is not well-suited for jury trials, and those frequently have been moved to Denver. Eighteen months ago, though, a pilot program was launched in which Magistrate Judge David L. West and a visiting district judge handled more cases, both civil and criminal. With that, trials have been held more consistently and more formally.

Those trends only should improve with more space. Under a plan in the works since 2011, the General Services Administration is leasing more than 6,500 square feet on the first floor of the County Courthouse for federal court space. A $3 million renovation of that space is slated for next year.

As part of the shuffle, the county’s administration, finance department, assessor’s office and board meeting room will move to the County Administration Building on the northwest corner of 11th Street and Second Ave. That building used to house the Vectra Bank and was acquired by the county in 2012.

With all, any talk of moving other courts out of the courthouse is a thing of the past. And gone with it are attendant concerns about how that might have affected downtown.

So, the community gets continued economic vitality, greater convenience for victims, the accused and the court system itself and locally administered justice – coupled with new and presumably more efficient county offices. Not a bad series of moves.



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