Attachment A - Municipal Court Annual Report

TO:

MAYOR BROCKETT AND CITY COUNCIL

FROM:

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

RE: DATE:

ANNUAL REPORT FEBRUARY 4, 2026

This memorandum supplements the court’s February City Council presentation. In the following discussion, we will address case filings for 2025 and the court’s 2026 Workplan. A. CASE TYPES AND FILING DATA The Boulder Municipal Court presides over cases and disputes arising under the Boulder Municipal Code, including the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Traffic infractions and offenses Photo radar and photo red-light violations Parking violations Criminal offenses (petty offenses and misdemeanors only) Animal and code violations Civil appeals through the quasi-judicial review process

CASE TYPE TRAFFIC-ADULT TRAFFIC-UNDER 18 PHOTO RADAR RED LIGHT PHOTO RADAR PHOTO SPEED ON GREEN CRIMINAL-ADULT CRIMINAL-UNDER 18 ANIMAL PARKING CIVIL APPEALS

2021 3,392 124 34,628 16,715 0 2,340 103 880 77,846 39

2022 2,843 74 35,823 16,552 0 1,575 30 440 81,682 59

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2023 3,257 80 25,375 18,453 0 1,494 14 639 95,855 77

2024 3,849 121 38,463 16,847 6,139 1,884 24 706 79,652 82

2025 4,462 148 34,099 22,491 16,031 2,048 59 504 72,092 85

TRAFFIC FILINGS 4462 3849 3392

3257 2843

124 2021

121 2023 80

2022 74 ADULT

2024

148 2025

UNDER 18

The chart above reflects the total number of adult and juvenile traffic filings during the years 2021 through 2025 (excluding photo enforcement citations). Traffic filings increased by approximately 16% from 2024 to 2025. The types of traffic charges filed in our court include traffic infractions like Speeding, Failure to Obey a Red Signal, Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign and more serious traffic offenses like Careless Driving, Reckless Driving and Failure to Provide Evidence of Insurance. Boulder Municipal Court does not have jurisdiction over DUI, DWAI or traffic accidents involving serious bodily injury or death. Those offenses are addressed in state court. For certain low-level infractions, defendants may accept a “pay and close” plea bargain option without appearing in court. More serious traffic offenses and charges involving an injury accident require a court appearance. Defendants under 18 must appear in court with a parent or guardian. Our goal is to provide a streamlined process that respects the time of all court participants. Out-of-town defendants, parents and those with challenging life circumstances may appear remotely. Most traffic cases are resolved by plea agreement via the “pay and close” option or at a defendant’s first appearance in court. Sentencing usually involves a modest fine, which is determined based on a variety of factors, including the underlying facts of the instant case, defendant’s driving history, financial circumstances and ability to pay. The prosecution team will often recommend lower fines or suspended fines for those individuals when financial hardship warrants such a recommendation. The City Attorney’s Office and Municipal Court are both mindful of the disproportionate impact fines can have on individuals based upon their economic circumstances and take steps to ensure that fines are fair and equitable. Traffic classes are often imposed as part of plea agreements. In 2025, 316 adults and 79 juveniles completed a traffic class as part of their sentence.

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PHOTO ENFORCEMENT

PHOTO ENFORCEMENT RED LIGHT

SPEED ON GREEN

34,099 22,467

2021

2022

0

0

0

6,139

16,031

16,847

18,453

16,552

16,715

25,375

34,628

35,823

38,563

PHOTO RADAR

2023

2024

2025

The chart above reflects the total number of photo radar and photo red light cases filed in our court between 2021 and 2025. Photo enforcement filings increased by approximately 18% from 2024 to 2025. This is likely due to the full activation of “speed on green” cameras at certain intersections. The “speed on green” program began in the middle of 2024 as part of the city’s “Vision Zero” program. There were 16,301 “speed on green” citations issued in 2025. We anticipated an increase in photo enforcement filings in 2025 and expect that we may continue to see modest increases again in 2026. Defendants receiving photo enforcement notices may pay online, by mail or in person. Defendants who wish to contest a citation are required to appear in court but may do so via Zoom Video. Most photo enforcement cases are resolved with just one court appearance and without a trial. Due to the increase in traffic and photo enforcement filings, we added approximately 1.5 additional traffic dockets per month. We strive to provide an efficient forum for resolution of traffic matters. Part of that mission is to make sure that our arraignment sessions are not so large that court participants (such as defendants, defense counsel and prosecutors) are spending an unreasonable amount of time in court.

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GENERAL OFFENSE (CRIMINAL) FILINGS General offense cases include petty offenses and misdemeanor criminal offenses, primarily for adults. 2,048 adult criminal cases and 59 juvenile criminal cases were filed in the municipal court in 2025. This represents a 10% increase in criminal filings from 2024 to 2025.

GENERAL FILINGS 2,500

2,340 2,048 1,884

2,000 1,575

1,494

1,500

1,000

500 103

30

59

24

14

0 2021

2022

2023 ADULT

2024

2025

UNDER 18

QUALITY OF LIFE VIOLATIONS INVOLVING YOUNG ADULTS

QUALITY OF LIFE-YOUNG ADULT CASES 600

551 509

500 384

400 267

300

219

217 200 100 33

24 23

20 17

26 22

13 15

2022

2023

2024

2025

0 2021

MINOR IN POSSESSION

NUISANCE PARTY

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FIREWORKS

The chart above shows filings for quality-of-life violations involving young adult offenders such as Nuisance Party, Exploding Fireworks and Minor in Possession of Alcohol or Marijuana. These violations typically occur in one of the neighborhoods surrounding CU. From 2021-2023, quality-of-life citations decreased. Quality-of-life citations steadily increased in both 2024 and 2025 and are now at or near pre-COVID levels. We met recently with our partners at CU to discuss the notable trend of increased citations for these quality-of-life violations. CU officials have indicated that the increase in large parties on the Hill last spring and this fall led to additional enforcement from both Boulder Police Department and CUPD. As a result, the court received more quality-of-life filings. Except for Exploding Fireworks charges, most offenses involving young adult offenders are resolved through plea agreements between a defendant and the City Attorney’s Office. Typically, the agreement reached involves either a deferred prosecution or a deferred judgment, both of which can result in dismissal of the case if the defendant satisfies certain conditions. The conditions typically imposed in these diversion agreements include completing the CU Restorative Justice Program, a Community Living Class, a substance abuse class or therapy (when appropriate) and community service. Defendants must also avoid any other charges during the term of their deferral. Approximately 90% of those who entered into a deferral agreement in 2025 have or will successfully complete their conditions. Offenders charged with Exploding Fireworks are not offered the deferral options described above. If a defendant pleads guilty to an Exploding Fireworks offense, the court typically imposes a fine, community service and a restorative justice or educational program as part of the sentence. Since straight guilty pleas are not part of a deferral agreement, this type of case is not eligible for dismissal. As we have mentioned in past reports, utilizing both education and restorative principles is the best way to reduce recidivism. We rarely see students more than once and recidivism rates are low. However, with a new group of students moving from campus into these neighborhoods every fall, long-term residents of these neighborhoods continue to be impacted by quality-of-life violations. In addition to offering the programs discussed above, the University has recently launched a tenant education program, which utilizes a nine-month curriculum designed to educate freshmen during their first year living away from home on issues that will impact them as they move from campus into our community. COMMUNITY COURT PROGRAM The court’s criminal caseload also includes offenses involving the unhoused community, such as Camping, Trespass, Possession of Alcohol or Marijuana in Public, Smoking in Public and Use of Prohibited Items (primarily tents). Defendants with eligible charges may elect to participate in the Community Court program. By completing tasks authorized by prosecutors that improve stability, defendants can earn dismissal of these lower-level charges. More serious charges, such as Assault, Disorderly Conduct, Harassment, Resisting Arrest and Obstructing a Police Officer are not eligible for the Community Court program. Defendants facing one of these charges must address their charges through the traditional court process. Note also that our court does not address felonies such as homicide, sexual assault or violent offenses resulting in serious bodily injury, domestic violence, drug possession/distribution or theft. Those offenses are addressed in state court.

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Total Number of Community Court Cases by Year

382

378

2022

2023

498

484

2024

2025

Community Court is a collaborative effort between the Municipal Court, the City Attorney’s Office and a number of community partners, including All Roads Shelter, Annie and Millie’s Place (pet assistance and care), Behavioral Health Assistance Program (“BHAP”), Boulder Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team (“HOT”), Clinica, Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles, Deacon’s Closet, FOCUS Reentry, Recovery Café (addiction recovery), Urban Peak (a Denver youth shelter), Veterans Administration and a host of other non-profit organizations and community volunteers. The Community Court program resolves eligible cases in a humane, people-centered way that gets to the root cause of the criminal violation that brings a defendant into the justice system in the first place. This program improves participants’ well-being and stability by connecting them with mental health or addiction counselors, helping defendants secure identification or social security documents, helping defendants secure state and federal resources (like VA or Social Security benefits) and connecting defendants to Community Court partners to pursue housing options. Community Court is an extremely effective tool for resolving cases. The program reduces recidivism and prevents the use of precious jail resources by reducing the need to issue warrants when defendants fail to appear in court. In the court’s view, community safety and well-being is enhanced by this problem-solving approach. Over the past few years, we have seen a significant increase in participation in mental health and addiction counseling by Community Court participants. Counseling students from Naropa University provide on-site counseling sessions to Community Court participants at our Thursday morning program. Individuals interested in establishing a longer-term therapeutic relationship can also schedule appointments with Clinica’s mental health practitioners. In 2025, approximately 100 mental health counseling sessions were completed by Community Court participants as a direct result of their involvement with our program. Our hope is that those initial sessions lead to longer-term relationships that extend beyond the closure of a defendant’s criminal case.

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Community Court Mental Health Sessions 120 99 100

80 67 60

40 19

24

20

0 2022

2023

2024

2025

Community Court participants can also work on housing eligibility through engagement with our program. Court navigators conduct assessments to identify needs and then connect individuals to partners such as All Roads Shelter and Focus Reentry for intensive housing resource navigation. Community Court Success Stories 1. “Carla” (not her actual name) is nearly 70 years old and, until recently, was unable to obtain a Colorado state ID - a barrier that prevented her from accessing bank accounts and benefits she had not been able to use for over ten years. Colorado’s ID exceptions process is particularly difficult for people born out of state and Carla began the process with no identifying documents at all. By attending Community Court weekly for three months and working closely with court navigators, she gradually obtained supporting records, including Social Security, birth certificate, medical, and criminal justice documents. She then attended the Boulder Public Library’s mobile DMV and successfully passed the exceptions process. Carla now has a state ID and is positioned for housing and increased stability. 2. “Joseph” (not his actual name) received nearly twenty citations in 2025. Joseph has a long history of substance use disorder. After repeated contact with law enforcement and the courts, Joseph engaged with court navigators and outreach partners to pursue a different path. Through this coordinated support, he became document-ready, completed treatment, moved into sober living, and secured part-time employment, with plans to transition to full-time work in February. He continues to check in with court navigators and attends Community Court about every other week. 3. “Eric” is an honorably discharged Navy veteran who became housed at the end of November. Like so many of our country's veterans, he went directly from military service 7

to homelessness and was out on the streets for 13 years. He was housed through Veteran's Affairs after working with us through the Community Court program. He meets with his VA case manager every week and with his Clinica therapist several times a month. 4. “Thomas” has been working with Court Navigators since 2023. He is one of our high utilizers, who at one point was getting at least one citation every week. He fell through the cracks in the system for so many years, but when he was finally matched with a housing voucher, he moved into a Longmont apartment within a month. Since being housed, he has had no new citations. He came to court last week to get official congratulations from the judge and prosecutors, signifying his exit from the Community Court program. 5. “Shane” struggles with managing anger and has a history of getting in fights. Shane met with our Naropa counselors regularly to work on his emotional regulation. Not only did we see a difference in his demeanor, but he expressed that he feels calmer and is able to remove himself from triggering environments. Shane has developed trusting relationships with his Naropa counselors and is interested in a long-term counseling program. The court is very proud of the work that these individuals have done and is thankful for the work done by our Community Court partners. Traditional Court Process Not all cases can be resolved using the problem-solving approaches outlined above. Some charges or defendants may not be eligible for Community Court or for resolution through a deferral program and some individuals choose not to participate in these programs. These cases are still more likely to be resolved by a direct guilty plea than being set for trial. We had only a few criminal trials in 2025 and no cases went to a jury trial. As one might expect, the problem-solving approach embraced and implemented by the City Attorney’s Office and the Municipal Court plays a key role in limiting the need for resource-intensive criminal trials. It also reduces the need to issue warrants or impose jail sentences. The court is reluctant to impose jail as a tool to enforce rules or change behavior unless necessary. When defendants do not come to court, fail to complete sentence conditions or repeat impactful criminal behavior, the court may have no other option than to impose a jail sentence. In 2025, the court issued 875 warrants. Not all issued warrants resulted in arrest. Many defendants who receive notice of an outstanding warrant contact the court to address their case without being arrested. The court will cancel an outstanding warrant if a defendant resets their case and appears on their new court date. For those who get arrested, the court is required by state law to conduct an “in-custody” advisement hearing within 48 hours of arrest. Pursuant to state law, all in-custody defendants are represented by the court’s public defender. In 2025, the court conducted 722 in-custody advisement hearings.

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ANIMAL CASES

NUMBER OF ANIMAL CITATIONS BY YEAR 1000 900

880

800

709

700

629

600

504 440

500 400 300 200 100 0 2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

504 animal-related charges were filed in the municipal court in 2025. This includes violations such as Dog at Large, Dog License Displayed, Subjecting Animal to Unnecessary Suffering and Aggressive Animal. Most animal violations resulted in guilty pleas or plea agreements. Defendants who plead guilty to an Aggressive Animal charge are required to participate in an animal evaluation conducted by a court-approved evaluator or animal behaviorist. The court relies on the reports of these animal experts to set sentence conditions designed to protect the public from future aggressive animal incidents. PARKING In 2025, approximately 72,000 parking citations were filed in our court. Parking officers also issued approximately 21,000 written warnings. Most parking citations are paid online, by mail or directly at the court’s Violations Bureau counter. Defendants who want to contest their citation have the option of appealing by mail or through the court’s online parking appeal program. In 2025, the court addressed over 8,400 parking appeals. The court also offers an informal parking add-on docket on Fridays, giving defendants the option of appearing in front of a judge to discuss citations in a setting that is less formal than an actual trial. This docket is used primarily to address vehicles that have been impounded or that are eligible to be impounded due to unpaid citations. Between 2021 and 2024, just 11 parking cases proceeded to trial. In 2025, we had a unique circumstance involving one parking defendant who took approximately 25 different parking citations to trial. CIVIL APPEALS Boulder Municipal Court has been designated as the hearing officer for all appeals filed by parties pursuant to the city’s quasi-judicial review process. The types of civil cases heard by the court include bear trash, rental license and building code violations, marijuana license 9

suspensions and appeals of building suspension orders issued by the City Manager’s Office. In 2025, the court processed 85 appeals. Most of these appeals were resolved by agreements between the City Attorney’s Office and the appealing party. B.

2025 GOALS

Personnel Additions Our 2025 Workplan objectives included the need to recruit and train key court personnel. We have been successful in meeting that objective. During the year, we hired Denean Hill as our new associate judge. Judge Hill joined our court in April with over twenty years’ experience working as a criminal defense attorney, most recently as the lead attorney and director of Student Legal Services for the University of Colorado. Judge Hill has been a wonderful addition to our team and has adapted well to her new role. We have also hired a new Therapeutic Court Manager, Probation Administration Assistant and two new court specialists. These new additions have enhanced our ability to meet our increasing case volume. Data Dashboard Last year, we committed to creating a data dashboard to improve public access to court data and improve the overall transparency of court operations. We knew that this project would be a very challenging one, especially given that we do not have our own team of data specialists. Data Analyst Josh Jackson and Court Administrator De’Von Kissick-Kelly, working alongside our partners at IT, have made that vision a reality. The first version of our Data Dashboard is now complete and will go live for the public on or before February 10, 2026. We are truly grateful to Shashikesh Swarnkar, a data engineer for IT, for his help making this project a reality. This version of the Data Dashboard is just a starting point. As we get feedback from users and the public, we will make changes and additions to improve the dashboard’s overall quality. Mental Health and Addiction Issues Last year, we mentioned our interest in improving access to mental health and addiction treatment options for court participants. The court does not have direct access to mental health and addiction programs that state courts utilize to meet defendants’ needs. To meet this challenge, our court navigators and prosecutors work with state court counterparts to access these resources for defendants who have cases in both the state and municipal court. This past summer, our judges and probation team met with program coordinators at the Boulder County Jail to identify programs that could be utilized by our defendants while in custody and when a defendant is released from custody. This meeting resulted in an agreement with the Behavioral Health and Assistance Program (“BHAP”) that allows direct referrals to that program for municipal court defendants while they are in custody. That relationship then continues after the defendant is released from custody. We also leverage our relationships with Community Court partners like Naropa and Clinica to secure mental health and addiction counseling for those most in need. Funding issues for our community partners continues to be a significant challenge that has become even more difficult due to the change in philosophy and commitment from the federal government. We will continue to pursue improvements to access for court participants and will need to be creative and industrious as financial realities impact this mission. 10

Community Court and Day Services Center Around the same time that we opened at Penfield Tate in 2024, we began case outreach at the Day Services Center (“DSC”) at All Roads in North Boulder. Our community partners like Deacon’s Closet are also bringing services to the DSC on a weekly basis. We look forward to working together with All Roads and the DSC in 2025 to improve access to programs and services for our unhoused Community Court participants. 2026 Workplan We have a lot of work from 2025 that will still be on our plate in 2026. Our 2026 Workplan includes the following objectives: a. Enhance Data Dashboard. As we receive feedback from data dashboard users, we will implement changes and enhancements to improve the dashboard and thus improve transparency and community access. b. Establish Metrics to Evaluate Community Court Program. This fall, court navigators began a process to make changes to our Community Court program, which includes the creation of new criteria to identify the appropriate strategies for the varying degrees of engagement from Community Court participants. This is a natural next step for a maturing program. The City Attorney’s Office and Municipal Court continue to act as a mentor court for other fledgling community court programs across the country through a partnership with the Center for Justice Innovation (“CJI”). We learn as much from our mentee courts as they learn from us. Last summer, CJI asked Judge Cahn to join a panel of judges and practitioners on the National Community Justice Advisory Board. This Board is working to create national standards and metrics that can be used by courts, including ours, in setting goals, metrics and best practice objectives for community court operations. The creation of this Board and its work should allow the court to evaluate the success of this program and make changes as necessary to better achieve community objectives. c. Make Changes to Comply with Colorado Supreme Court Rulings and State Legislation In years past, the court has shared with Council the impact that criminal justice reform has had on the court’s ability to address criminal behavior. In 2014, Michael Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer. That incident and others led to much needed and wide-ranging criminal justice reform across the country. In Colorado, criminal justice reform has reshaped the way that municipal courts operate. The ripple effects of this reform continue. On December 22, 2025, the Colorado Supreme Court issued its opinion in People v. Camp, 2025 CO 64. This decision affects how home rule cities, such as ours, enforce local ordinances. In short, the opinion prevents municipal courts, even in home rule cities, from imposing sentences that exceed the maximum sentences that could be imposed in the state court for identical conduct. For example, a defendant facing a Trespass charge under the Boulder Revised Code (“B.R.C.”) could not face a sentence longer than the 10-day maximum jail sentence or $750 fine maximum that could be imposed for that same offense under state law. The current maximum penalty that could be imposed for Trespass under the B.R.C. is up to 90 days in jail and up to a $2,650 fine. Fortunately, our court rarely imposes lengthy jail 11

sentences or high fines, so compliance with this ruling should not have a significant impact on our existing sentencing practices. However, we will need to make changes to court processes and procedures, revise our in-court and in-custody oral and written advisements and make changes to our bond schedule and other forms. Camp may also result in changing standards for a defendant’s right to court-appointed counsel or a jury trial for offenses that will no longer be punishable by jail. This will create some increased work for judges, prosecutors and our court team. In addition, it is likely that the Colorado General Assembly will make further revisions to state statutes pertaining to municipal courts, most notably the way that municipal courts contract with and pay public defenders. Roberto Ramirez and others from the City Attorney’s Office, along with Heather Stauffer (Intergovernmental Officer from CMO) have been working with the Colorado Municipal League to secure changes to this proposed legislation so that our court and others are not significantly impacted by this legislation. We will monitor this legislation and make sure that we comply with any changes adopted by the state legislature. The court looks forward to the February 12 City Council meeting and will be happy to address questions at that meeting.

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