It is regrettable that the title, “The People’s Court,” has been so strongly associated with the sensational, arbitration-based television series that debuted in 1981 with irascible Judge Joseph Wapner.
Because for 25 years, Judge Martha Minot conducted a real and infinitely more effective version in La Plata County, without the rancor and drama. As a community, we are all the better for her tenure.
Tireless, dealing with the largest caseload of any judge in the state, Minot still found time to work as a hospice volunteer and to help educate young students about the court system. She was suitably stern when necessary, yet according to all who worked with her, she remains as compassionate now as she was when appointed to the chair in 1995 by then Gov. Roy Romer.
Minot, who retired at the end of August, made a point of making sure the people who appeared before her understood the legal process and the charges, options and possible penalties they were facing. She repeatedly explained court procedures to the men and women who came before her as patiently as she detailed the reasons for her decisions in each case.
As the sole judge for La Plata County’s people’s court, she dealt with nearly all of the county’s low-level criminal cases – including traffic violations and misdemeanor infractions – and civil disputes involving less than $15,000. She quickly earned, and never lost, a reputation for treating those who came before her with dignity, respect and fairness.
But Judge Minot’s legacy extends beyond the records of her decisions. She was instrumental in bringing the concept of problem-solving courts to Southwest Colorado. At the time of retirement, she was overseeing three: drug court, behavioral health court and DUI court, giving many citizens a chance to deal with the patterns and addictions at the root of their illegal behavior, and to learn to avoid future transgressions.
Those concepts continue to evolve, evidenced by La Plata County District Attorney Christian Champagne’s emphasis on diversion and restorative justice programs, where criminal cases can be resolved outside a courtroom, victims can have a say in what constitutes appropriate punishment and defendants can complete programs of counseling, therapy and classes in lieu of criminal convictions.
Gov. John Hickenlooper has appointed prosecutor Dondi Osborne to take Minot’s place. We wish her the best, with hopes that she will build on the template left by a gifted caretaker of our community.
