Judge gives Huerfano Co. government final order to properly fund DA’s office
HUERFANO CO., Colo. (KRDO) -- An Huerfano County judge has issued a final order to properly fund the southern Colorado community’s District Attorney’s office.
The judge found that underfunding for the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office by Huerfano County Commissioners “created numerous legal ethical and operational problems” for the community.
According to the final order issued on Oct 13, Huerfano County Commissioners are now officially required to fund, to the best of their abilities, the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s office in accordance with the court’s approved caseload to prosecutor ratio.
Through litigation in the case, the judge found that there ought to be one prosecutor for every 100 Huerfano County felony cases filed, and one prosecutor for every 800 traffic or misdemeanor cases in the county as well. The judge found that County Commissioners failed to use actual Huerfano County crime data when budgeting for the district attorney’s office in the past.
The judge also orders the Huerfano County Commissioners to eliminate disparate treatment between government agencies and the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
“For the last four or so years they would fund those other departments at roughly about 100% or more of the request they made,” 3rd Judicial District Attorney Henry Solano who oversees prosecuting criminal cases in Huerfano County. “But for the district attorney’s office, they were only funding us at around 40% of what is now what the court decided to be reasonable and necessary funding. Last year the funding was just at 50%.”
In the order, the judge found that the Huerfano County Commissioners abused their discretion and “acted arbitrarily and captiously when deciding the budget for the District Attorney for 2021.”
Solano has been fighting legal battles with elected leaders in Huerfano County and Las Animas County over appropriate funding since 2018.
“If they comply with this order we will be able to have sufficient attorneys, support staff, and investigators,” Solano said to 13 Investigates. “All of that combined should help us be able to properly, ethically, and professionally prosecute cases in Huerfano County.”
Solano believes it is a strong probability that the Huerfano County Commissioners will appeal the judge’s final order.
13 Investigates reached out to all three current Huerfano County Commissioners for comment, and are awaiting a response.
Stanley Garnett, the former District Attorney in Boulder County and an attorney representing the Huerfano County Commissioners in this case, provided a statement via email to 13 Investigates calling Solano's actions "inappropriate."
Lawsuits against county officials by DAs are an inappropriate and unusual strategy to manage challenging issues. I was elected to 3 terms as the Boulder District Attorney so I have extensive experience negotiating budgets with County Commissioners who have many budget priorities other than the DA’s office. DAs are to work in good faith with their respective counties to resolve these issues and Mr. Solano has now sued both the Sheriff and the County Commissioners. In the history of Colorado since statehood (1876) this appears to be the first time a DA has chosen to address issues in this manner, by filing lawsuits against two separate county offices in one of his constituent counties. Now, apparently, rather than litigate the issues he has raised in these lawsuits through the courts, he wants to do so through the press.
Stanley Garnett, Attorney
Garnett argues that a caseload to prosecutor formula is difficult to adhere to for rural government when it comes to their District Attorney's.
Through their attorney, Huerfano County Commissioners say they respect the judge's order but plan to appeal the decision in the Colorado Appellate Courts. The county commissioners say they have always worked in good faith every year to provide a budget for the District Attorney's Office and will continue to do so.
