The District Attorney’s Office for the 18th Judicial District will be hosting an in-person event on Feb. 12 in Aurora for people with active low-level warrants to resolve their cases or set new court dates
The event will take place at 14980 E. Alameda Drive, Aurora, 80012 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Anyone with an active warrant or warrant for probation violation in the county for Class 5 or Class 6 felony, Class 4 drug felony, misdemeanor or traffic offense will be able to seek help at the event. It excludes cases that fall under the Victims Rights Act, such as assault, domestic violence or child abuse.
The event, the first of its kind for the county, arose out of a need to address the backlog of cases due to COVID, according to Senior Chief Deputy District Attorney Vicki Klingensmith.
“We realized we needed to have some kind of forum for people to address low-level warrants,” Klingensmith said. “We heard from the courts about the number of outstanding warrants … and we heard it from the public defenders.”
The DA’s office has made it clear that there will be no arrests made for people in attendance, and police and the county’s sheriff’s office will not be involved in any resource capacity, Klingensmith said.
“This is really to resolve and hopefully reset cases, so people don’t have these outstanding warrants and continue on with their lives without worry that they’re going to be arrested,” she said.
Public defense attorneys will be present, as well as judges, meaning that attendees will have the chance to resolve their cases that day, Klingensmith said, or have the opportunity to set a court date. Additionally, the event will host various community resources for health, housing and financial assistance.
This will include staff from the Tri-County Health Department, who will administer vaccines and booster shots on-site, as well as staff from Arapahoe County Human Services and AllHealth Network and Aurora Mental Health.
“It’s kind of a one-stop shop in a sense that people are accessing whatever they need, not just court, but if you need mental health, human resources, it’s all right there,” Klingensmith said.
While the event was spurred by a delay in cases being resolved amid the pandemic, Klingensmith said depending on turnout, the DA’s office may consider holding similar events in the future and hopes people will take advantage of what is being offered.
“It’s a way for you to get that second chance,” she said. “We can facilitate as many people who want to show up.”
Anyone with questions is asked to call the Public Defender’s Office at 303-799-9001.