Attachment D - Municipal Court Memo

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TO:

MAYOR BROCKETT AND CITY COUNCIL

FROM:

JEFF CAHN, MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE DE’VON KISSICK-KELLY, COURT ADMINISTRATOR

RE:

PUBLIC SAFETY UPDATE

DATE:

SEPTEMBER 24, 2026

This memorandum supplements the court’s September 24, 2026 City Council presentation. In the following discussion, we will focus on criminal filings involving unhoused residents and our young adult community. CASES FILED IN MUNICIPAL COURT Boulder Municipal Court handles petty and misdemeanor offenses only. The court does not handle felonies, drug offenses, sexual assault, domestic violence, DUI, offenses involving serious bodily injury, theft, burglary or shoplifting. Those types of charges are addressed in the state’s county and district courts.

MUNICIPAL COURT

STATE COURT

Camping Trespass Littering Tent Prohibited Alcohol/Marijuana in Public Minor in Possession of Alcohol or Marijuana Noise/Nuisance Party Fireworks Fraudulent Identification

DUI/DWAI/DUID Homicide Sex Assault Domestic Violence Drug Offenses (Meth, Fentanyl) Theft, shoplifting, burglary

CASES INVOLVING BOULDER’S UNHOUSED COMMUNITY The chart below shows the number of cases filed for several case types where the defendant was not housed at the time of the offense. These filings reflect the periods from September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025 and from September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026.

Case Filings-Unhoused Defendants 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Camping

Trespass

Trespass Public Prop 2025

Prohibited Items

Obstruck Govt Ops

2026

These categories capture most, but not all charges for which an unhoused person was the named defendant. While the court’s total criminal filings in all categories have increased, the number of filings involving the unhoused has been relatively stable.

Case Outcomes-Unhoused The following tables illustrate the outcomes (dispositions) of cases filed for various types of offenses involving unhoused defendants.

CAMPING Deferred Judgment Deferred Prosecution Guilty Plea or Finding No Contest Dismissed - Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - Alternative sentencing option completed Dismissed - CA Discretion/Insufficient Evidence Dismissed - City Attorney Plea Bargain Dismissed - Error on Summons Case has not yet been resolved 2

17 2 95 1 5 271 45 20 5 116

PROHIBITED ITEMS (TENTS, PROPANE TANKS, ETC.) Deferred Judgment Deferred Prosecution Guilty Plea or Finding No Contest Dismissed - Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - Alternative sentencing option completed Dismissed - CA Discretion/Insufficient Evidence Dismissed - CA Motion Dismissed - City Attorney Plea Bargain Dismissed - Error on Summons Case has not yet been resolved

TRESPASS Deferred Judgment Deferred Prosecution Guilty Plea or Finding Dismissed - DJ Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - DP Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - Alternative sentencing option completed Dismissed - CA Discretion/Insufficient Evidence Dismissed - CA Motion Dismissed - City Attorney Plea Bargain Case has not yet been resolved

23 1 114 1 24 295 27 62 63 2 111

10 5 115 15 13 88 6 29 5 95

TRESPASS ON PUBLIC PROPERTY Deferred Judgment Deferred Prosecution Guilty Plea or Finding Dismissed - Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - Alternative sentencing option completed Dismissed - CA Motion Dismissed - City Attorney Plea Bargain Case has not yet been resolved OBSTRUCTING GOV’T OPERATIONS Deferred Judgment Deferred Prosecution Guilty Plea or Finding Dismissed - Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - Alternative sentencing option completed Dismissed - CA Discretion/Insufficient Evidence Dismissed - CA Motion Dismissed - City Attorney Plea Bargain Dismissed - Error on Summons Case has not yet been resolved

1 1 17 1 58 3 3 42

29 2 75 33 40 27 51 41 1 68

SUMMARY OF CASE OUTCOMES-UNHOUSED 1. Traditional Court Process Unhoused defendants facing criminal offenses receive citations that direct these defendants to appear in court at the Justice Center. On or before a defendant’s arraignment, city prosecutors determine whether that defendant’s case may be resolved through the Community Court Program. Not all cases are eligible for the program. Assault, Resisting Arrest, brawling (fighting in public), Harassment, Obstructing Government Operations and Trespass at a business or residence are examples of charges that are not typically eligible for the Community Court Program.

For cases that are not eligible for Community Court, the defendant may plead not guilty, guilty, no contest or meet with a prosecutor to discuss plea bargain options. Unhoused defendants may elect to represent themselves or may choose to be represented by the court’s public defender. The tables above are derived from data that can be reviewed in the Municipal Court’s Data Dashboard and provide insight as to how these cases are resolved. Most cases are resolved through a guilty plea or plea agreement. Looking at the table for Obstructing Government Operations, you can see that of the approximately 350 Obstructing Government Operations charges filed, 75 resulted in direct guilty pleas and 64 resulted in deferrals (deferred prosecution, deferred judgments and successful deferral completion categories combined). 40 charges were dismissed after a defendant completed an alternative sentencing option (such as completing housing or stability related tasks agreed to by the defendant and the prosecutor). 119 cases were dismissed upon motion by the city prosecutor for a variety of reasons. This includes dismissals based upon a plea agreement involving another pending case, a prosecutor’s determination that the interests of justice require dismissal, a defendant being deemed to be incompetent to proceed, etc. Finally, 68 of the Obstructing Government Operations charges set forth in the table have “not yet been resolved.” Many of these cases remain active with the legal process still moving forward. A small percentage of these cases move forward to trial, either in front of a judge as factfinder or through a jury trial where a jury acts as factfinder. Many of the cases have not been resolved because the defendant has not appeared in court. For defendants that fail to appear in criminal cases, the court issues arrest warrants. Defendants who are arrested on Boulder Municipal Court warrants are seen in custody at the Boulder County Jail.

Warrants 9/1/2024 to 8/31/2026 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Warrants 2024

2025

2026 YTD

Jail Hearings 9/1/2024 to 8/31/2026 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Jail Hearings 2024

2025

2026 YTD

Community Court Program

The Community Court Program is a collaborative effort between the City Attorney’s Office, the court and a wide array of community partners. The program is voluntary for defendants and only available to defendants who have lower level offenses, such as Camping, Possession or Consumption of Alcohol in Public, Prohibited Item (like a tent) and certain Trespass charges. A defendant may resolve their case through the Community Court Program while at the Justice Center or at the court’s outreach program at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Thursdays from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. In this program, the court’s navigation and probation team, working alongside city prosecutors, meet with defendants to identify certain tasks that a defendant can take to improve their stability or advance their prospects for obtaining housing. Task completion often results in dismissal of the underlying charge. Tasks that a defendant might complete include applying for social security disability benefits, applying for SNAP benefits, obtaining a reserved bed at All Roads (formerly known as the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless), participating in mental health or addiction therapy, obtaining a state ID, driver’s license or social security card, or working with a partner agency to obtain housing. On-site counseling sessions have been a great success. The chart below shows the number of on-site counseling sessions completed in each of the last three years.

Community Court Counseling Sessions 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 #of sessions 2024

2025

2026 YTD

A new option available to Community Court participants is the opportunity to meet with City staff from the City’s Community Connections Division in the Open Space and Mountain Parks Department. In these meetings, defendants learn about fire safety in our parks and public spaces. These conversations build trust and a sense of community and responsibility for all who participate. Beginning in the spring, our Court Navigator, Sebastian Adams, worked with the City Attorney’s Office to develop a Four-Tier approach to our interactions with defendants in the Community Court program. This approach was designed to provide a more individualized response to unhoused defendants who have cases that might be eligible for the Community Court Program. The Four-Tier approach creates guidelines for navigation and city prosecutors to utilize when making decisions about case resolutions. Most importantly, it provides for greater accountability for defendants who are not actively engaging with the program or otherwise addressing criminal offenses in community spaces.

CASES INVOLVING THE YOUNG ADULT POPULATION

Filings-Young Adults 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 MIP

MIP M

Nuisance Party 2024

Fierworks Prohibited

Unreasonable Noise

Fraudulent ID

2025

The chart above shows the total number of cases filed for Minor in Possession of Alcohol (MIP), Minor in Possession of Marijuana (MIP M), Nuisance Party, Fireworks Prohibited, Unreasonable Noise and Fraudulent Identification (also known as Fake ID) for the periods of September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025 and September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026. The number of quality-of-life violations increased in both the 2024-2025 academic year and again in the 2025-2026 academic year. . The 2026-2027 academic year has just begun and thus we do not have data to share regarding the fillings or resolutions for this period. A review of case filings for the first month of the 2026/2027academic year suggests that we are seeing another fall with a significant number of quality-of-life violations.

CASE OUTCOMES-YOUNG ADULTS

MIP ALCOHOL OUTCOMES Deferred Judgment Deferred Prosecution Guilty Dismissed - DJ Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - DP Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - Alternative sentencing option completed Dismissed - CA Discretion/Insufficient Evidence Dismissed - CA Motion Dismissed - City Attorney Plea Bargain

21 3 3 112 654 1 4 28 8

MIP MARIJUANA OUTCOMES Dismissed - DJ Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - DP Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - Alternative sentencing option completed Dismissed - CA Discretion/Insufficient Evidence Dismissed - CA Motion Dismissed - City Attorney Plea Bargain Dismissed - Error on Summons Case has not yet been resolved

11 57 1 1 2 1 1 8

NUISANCE PARTY OUTCOMES Deferred Judgment Guilty Dismissed - DJ Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - CA Motion Dismissed - City Attorney Plea Bargain

5 5 15 8 1

FIREWORKS PROHIBITED OUTCOMES Deferred Judgment Guilty DISMISSED - DJ Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - CA Motion Dismissed - City Attorney Plea Bargain UNREASONABLE NOISE OUTCOMES Deferred Judgment Guilty Dismissed - DJ Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - CA Motion Dismissed - CC Alternative sentencing option completed Dismissed - City Attorney Plea Bargain Case has not yet been resolved FRAUDULENT ID OUTCOMES Deferred Judgment Deferred Prosecution Guilty Dismissed - DJ Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - DP Successful Deferral Completion Dismissed - CA Discretion/Insufficient Evidence Dismissed - CA Motion Dismissed - City Attorney Plea Bargain Case has not yet been resolved

5 5 15 8 1

5 14 25 7 1 6 1

69 2 3 143 9 1 10 1 1

SUMMARY OF CASE OUTCOMES-YOUNG ADULTS 1. MIP Alcohol and MIP Marijuana Case Outcomes The MIP Alcohol and MIP Marijuana case outcome tables show that a very high percentage of cases were resolved with the defendant entering into a deferral agreement. Offenders with an MIP Alcohol or MIP Marijuana charge who enter into a deferral agreement are required to complete a substance use education or treatment 10

program determined by the court’s probation department. The level of education or treatment required is based upon a variety of factors, including the defendant’s prior criminal history, level of intoxication and the substance use screen completed by the defendant. The chart below shows the programs completed by young adult offenders for the periods from September 1, 2024 through August 31, 2025 and from September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026.

Classes Completed-Young Adults 250 200 150 100 50 0 CURJ

Community Living

MIP Level 1 2024

MIP Level 2

MIP Level 3

MIP Level 4

2025

Most MIP defendants were ordered to complete the MIP Level 2 substance use education program or the Level 3 education and therapy program. The level 2 program involves group meetings where defendants learn about impacts of substance use on themselves and their community. Level 3 is a more personalized program, involving individualized sessions designed to address the underlying issues for each defendant. These education and treatment programs are conducted by Health Promotions at the University of Colorado. For non-CU students, the court utilizes on-line education programs or substance use therapy programs offered by certified substance use counselors. 2. Nuisance Party, Fireworks and Unreasonable Noise Case Outcomes Nuisance Party, Fireworks Prohibited and Unreasonable Noise charges make up a very small percentage of cases filed, but they have a significant impact on the community. As a result, plea offers vary widely, depending upon the nature of the case. As you can see by reviewing the tables related to these two charges, deferred prosecutions are rare and direct guilty pleas represent a higher percentage of case outcomes. Defendants who plead guilty directly or enter into a deferred judgment agreement for one of these 11

charges are usually ordered to complete several conditions as part of their sentence or deferral agreement. These conditions include participating in and completing the CU Restorative Justice Program, attending the CU Community Living Class, completing community service (between 4 and 24 hours depending on the circumstance of the case) and completing a substance use education or treatment program as determined by the court’s probation department. 3. Fraudulent Identification Case Outcomes The number of Fraudulent Identification charges filed in the Municipal Court increased significantly from the 2024-2025 academic year to the 2025-2026 academic year. 53 Fraudulent Identification charges were filed in the 2024-2025 academic year and 224 Fraudulent Identification charges were filed in the 2025-2026 academic year..12 The court cannot speculate as to the reason(s) for this dramatic increase. As with the quality-of-life violations discussed previously, most of these charges were resolved with either a direct guilty plea or a deferred judgement. Typical conditions imposed as part of the deferral agreement or sentence include completion of the CU Restorative Justice Program, completion of alcohol education or treatment and completion of community service. As a result of the increased filings, the court has created a special docket for Fraudulent Identification cases that occur twice per month. This change allows for greater efficiency in the handling of these cases and reduces congestion on our Tuesday morning criminal docket. CONCLUSION The court looks forward to speaking with Council at the September 24, 2026 Public Safety Update. We will be happy to answer questions about the data in this memo or any other questions Council might have regarding the court’s operation.