Petition alleges 575-day sentence is unconstitutional
By JUAN ESPINOSA
A Pueblo man, who alleges he has been illegally held in Pueblo County Jail since January, was granted a zero-dollar personal recognizance bond by a district court judge on Friday, Oct. 4.
Two hours later, Dean L. Lopez, 55, walked out of the Pueblo detention center where he had been detained for the past eight months.
Through a petition to the court filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, Lopez said the city of Pueblo denied him basic constitutional rights when he was sentenced to 575 days in jail for petty crimes and missed court dates.
Pueblo Municipal Court has been the subject of a series of stories published by the Denver Post, alleging that the court was using contempt of court charges to justify long jail terms for defendants charged with misdemeanor and non-violent charges. In Pueblo, the story has been largely ignored by the local newspaper and television media.
In August, La Cucaracha News posted an abbreviated version of the Post’s story, “How Pueblo weaponizes contempt of court to inflate jail time for minor crimes.”
In Lopez’s case, his original charge was trespassing. Of the 575-day sentence, only 90 days were for the trespassing charge. The rest of the sentence was for 31 counts of municipal contempt because of missed court dates.
When he was sentenced, Lopez was unhoused. While he has been in jail, he missed his father’s funeral, according to the petition.
At Friday’s hearing, Lopez was shackled and wearing jail coveralls.
ACLU attorney Emma Mclean-Riggs asked District Court Judge Michelle Chostner to have Lopez’s shackles removed, “He can’t write,” McLean-Riggs said.
Chostner agreed, which proved to be a necessary prerequisite. Before the hearing was concluded, Lopez was released on a personal recognizance bond on his own signature.
The judge acknowledged the case could have broad implications. “I am mindful that what decision I make here will impact multiple cases,” she said.
Most of the hearing was spent haggling over the date of a hearing where the legality of Lopez’s sentencing is to be determined. Judge Chostner said that the law required a hearing within five days, but said the time could be extended.
Representing the city of Pueblo, Lisa Macchietto said they couldn’t respond in five days. They would need between 45 and 60 days to prepare.
Mclean-Rigg said if the hearing did not take place in five days, she wanted her client released immediately.
Macchietto said the city would agree to immediate release on a moderate cash bond.
Chostner countered with an immediate release and stay from further execution of (Lopez’s) sentence on a one-dollar personal recognizance bond.
After a brief discussion, the judge agreed to a zero-dollar bond.
The hearing was set for 8 a.m., Nov. 1 in Chostner’s courtroom. The city will have 14 days to prepare a brief and the ACLU will have seven days to respond.
The last question brought before the court was the matter of client/lawyer privilege. The city attorney’s argued that by signing the petition, Lopez had waived his client/lawyer privilege.
Judge quickly put the matter to rest, “I don’t think a person can consent to an illegal sentence.”
