November 5, 1996 Update on Laura Kriho case
Many of you have been following the case of Laura Kriho, a former juror cited for contempt of court for deliberating "improperly" in a jury room. Colorado First Judicial District Judge Kenneth Barnhill was the judge who cited Kriho for contempt of court. At the request of Kriho's defense attorney, Paul Grant, Judge Barnhill reluctantly recused himself from her case. Kriho was tried by the district's Chief Judge Henry Nieto.
As reported in the Rocky Mountain News and
Denver Post on Election Day, Judge Barnhill now is being asked to recuse
himself from another case -- this time by the prosecuting attorney. Apparently,
Judge Barnhill wants to sentence a man convicted of 69 felonies to a half-way
house. The prosecutor wants the man to be sent to prison and is asking
the judge to recuse himself
because he is biased in favor of the defendant.
Kriho, whose only "crime" was allegedly to offend Judge Barnhill, was offered a plea bargain which included 90 days in jail (which she refused). It is amazing that Judge Barnhill wants to free killers but incarcerate jurors. It is a good thing that Barnhill is retiring in January.
However, if he weren't retiring, his actions would warrant a recall from office. But citizens can't recall judges; they are appointed for life. Juries have been traditionally one of the only ways to control judges. And now the judges in the First Judicial District want to destroy the power of juries by prosecuting ex-juror Laura Kriho. The whole thing reeks of the kind of tyranny against which our forefathers fought in the Revolutionary War.
In what may be the longest deliberation
period in criminal court history, Judge Nieto has not rendered a verdict
on the Kriho case. Her trial ended October 2nd. Now that the elections
are over, perhaps we can expect a verdict soon. Hopefully Judge Nieto will
be more impartial than Judge Barnhill.
The Rocky Mountain News story follows. Feedback is encouraged to all of our local papers.
Thank you for your support!
Dave Almquist
Jury Rights Project
Colorado Front Range Newspapers
letters@denverpost.com Denver Post, Denver
letters@denver-rmn.com Rocky Mt. News, Denver
news@dailycamera.com Daily Camera, Boulder
talbot@bcn.boulder.co.us Colorado Daily, Boulder
bweditor@tesser.com Boulder Weekly, Boulder
news@boulderplanet.com Boulder Planet, Boulder
mtn-ear@indra.com Mountain Ear, Nederland
editorial@westword.com Westword, Denver
Geographical Note: The First Judicial District is comprised of both
Gilpin and Jefferson Counties.
Late note from the courts: Judge Barnhill denied the motion to recuse himself.
Rocky Mountain News
Tuesday, November 5, 1996
Sentencing in fatal bus crash stalls
Prosecutor wants to dump Judge Barnhill, says he has advocated leniency
for driver
By Charlie Brennan
Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer
Golden -- Sentencing of a man convicted of 69 felonies in a fatal casino
bus crash has been derailed by controversy over a judge's alleged out-of-court
comments advocating leniency.
William J. Lucero, 37, was to have been sentenced today by Jefferson County
District Judge Kenneth Barnhill for his Aug. 2 convictions stemming from
the collision Aug. 27, 1995, with a
Casino Bus Transportation bus headed for Black Hawk on Colorado 119.
The crash, which occurred after Lucero fell asleep and veered into the wrong lane after a night of partying with cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol, killed bus passengers Oscar Montbrun, 68, Myrna Oen, 68, and Patricia Wiepzkowski, 55. Thirty other passengers were seriously injured.
The charges on which Lucero was convicted included 30 counts of vehicular assault while driving drunk and three of vehicular homicide while under the influence.
He was scheduled for sentencing today, and prosecutor Judy Archuleta was expected to argue for a prison term of 10 to 30 years. Instead, Archuleta will ask for a new judge at a hearing. "I've been a prosecutor for 11 years, and I've never asked for a recusal before," she said. "That's how strongly I feel about this."
Barnhill would not comment on the case Monday. But he filed a response last week to Archuleta's motion in which he said he remains impartial.
Archuleta alleges in court documents that
Barnhill made a "secretive" request of a probation officer to
"be creative" in drafting a sentencing recommendation, arguing
that Lucero was "a
nice man."
Court documents show that after a county
corrections screening committee Oct. 2 rejected Lucero as a candidate for
community corrections, Barnhill contacted Jefferson County
District Judge James D. Zimmerman, who is on the corrections committee's
board.
Barnhill, according to Archuleta, asked Zimmerman to have the committee reconsider Lucero for community corrections placement -- instead of prison -- based on "new and relevant" information about Lucero.
Prosecutor Steve Storey, a colleague of
Archuleta's, attended a reconsideration meeting Oct. 24.
Storey said that at that session, Zimmerman quoted a letter from Barnhill
saying Lucero was "a mild-mannered, soft-spoken, law-abiding citizen"
and that the deaths were "an unfortunate
accident, caused because Mr. Lucero fell asleep at the wheel, not because
of the effects of any controlled substance".
In her motion seeking a new judge, Archuleta protested that all Barnhill's communications with Zimmerman and probation officials were conducted "in secrecy" wrongly excluded her and that Barnhill was dispensing information about Lucero that was "outright wrong and misleading in a way that benefits one party to the case, the defendant."
Lucero was freed from jail one week after his trial, when Barnhill reduced his bail from $500,000 to $100,000.
Rocky Mountain News
400 W. Colfax
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: (303) 892-5000
Fax: (303) 892-5499
Email: letters@denver-rmn.com
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