Michael Allen takes the reins in the 4th Judicial District

Michael allen, the newly elected 4th Judicial District Attorney, was sworn in Jan. 12. Term-limited at 12 years, Allen takes the helm at the DA’s office after 12 years of working under outgoing DA Dan May, most recently as senior deputy district attorney. May was the second-longest-serving DA in the history of the 4th Judicial District. Allen assumes leadership just after the Colorado Legislature passed Senate Bill 217, the police reform law created in the wake of widespread national and local protests over police violence, and as Colorado lawmakers, like Democrat Pete Lee (CD11), consider new legislation aimed at reforming the criminal justice system.

Allen’s main priority will be to carry out the district’s basic duties. “The overarching thing always is we need to ensure public safety,” he says. “We’re still going to be doing a lot of holding violent and career criminals accountable when we need to, but also looking to impact positively with problem-solving courts, people who need that second chance to get on their feet. We’ll use that too, because that does have a positive impact on public safety as well, if we can divert people into treatment and get them out of the criminal justice system.”

While Allen acknowledges the benefits of problem-solving courts and non-punitive approaches to criminal justice, he expresses some concerns regarding the Legislature’s attempts at reform, especially Sen. Lee’s proposed juvenile justice reforms. “The problem is that we’ve had some juveniles that have committed some really violent and atrocious acts in our community, and what the Legislature has done and where the Legislature seems to be going is to make it more challenging to hold those people accountable,” says Allen. “So if someone commits a murder, to me that means we have to give as much effort as we possibly can on those types of cases, and it doesn’t matter whether the offender is an adult or a child, in my mind, because somebody has lost their life. It has to be measured, is my point. We can’t completely remove criminal punishment from our repertoire, or arsenal of options just because they’re a kid, if they commit a violent act.”

May has similar concerns regarding the Legislature’s attempts at reform. “What is Michael Allen going to face?” asks May. “He’s going to face a Legislature that’s anti-prosecution and anti-cop and wants to make it better for the criminal, the hardcore criminal. Those are going to be very difficult issues for him. We’re finding it hard with police right now to recruit. It’s even got to the point, both with prosecution and police, you find a group of people who are just dedicated to public service, dedicated to their communities. Today I’ve got generational police officers telling their kids, ‘This is not a job you want anymore. America doesn’t like us anymore.’ It really is a public perception issue.”

May says criminal justice reform largely comes down to how law enforcement is perceived. “I think the biggest obstacle for prosecutors across the country and locally, and police, is public perception,” says May, who feels that police and prosecutors are being singled out. “I can tell you I’ve prosecuted police when they’ve committed crimes, but those individuals are such a small minority of what represents police. I’ve also prosecuted teachers. I haven’t lost my faith in the teacher’s association because I’ve prosecuted teachers for sexual assault, and murder, even.

May says the Legislature can tie the hands of prosecutors during difficult cases. “There’s going to be a sentencing reform coming up this next term,” he says, ”and I’m fearful that it is going to try to let serious criminals out of prison. I’m sorry, there is evil in this world, and I’ve got to have the tools at the other end to take care of those evil people.”

The issue of judicial reform will be pertinent to Allen, as the 4th Judicial District is one of the busiest in Colorado. “As I look at my caseload, we have the highest caseload in the state of Colorado,” says May. “We’ll handle 35,000 cases this year. We’ll handle 7,000 to 8,000 felonies. When I look across the state of Colorado though, 90 percent of the felons in our courts will not go to prison. They’ll go to problem-solving court, they’ll get probation, they’ll get halfway houses. We look at alternatives and innovative ways of doing things, but you get down to 10 percent or less, even 5 percent, are very hardcore criminals. Some people, quite frankly, are evil. The Legislature is taking away my ability to deal with that.”

One of Allen’s first moves as DA was to fire longtime prosecutor Jeff Lindsey, who in 2017 received the Colorado District Attorney’s Council with the Outstanding Faculty Award and was named Trainer of the Year. “When I’m evaluating who’s going to be really good for a leadership position in my administration,” says Allen, “especially a high-level leadership position like a chief deputy district attorney — which is what Jeff had — it’s going to be somebody that I know I can trust, is going to be doing the right things for the community, and have their eyes firmly affixed on what our mission is in the office. They’ve got to have merit, they’ve got to have the right experience, they’ve got to have leadership qualities, and they’ve got to want to do what is required of leadership.”

Reggie Short is the new chief deputy district attorney for the district court, and Andy Vaughan is now the chief deputy district attorney for the county court. Former two-term 11th Judicial District Attorney Thom LeDoux was promoted to senior deputy district attorney for the 4th Judicial District.

Allen has also hired former 17th Judicial District Attorney Dave Young, who declined to charge the officers involved in the 2019 death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain. Officers placed McClain in a chokehold and first responders administered ketamine, a sedative. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced Jan. 8 that the officers’ actions would be referred to a grand jury following massive protests in Aurora this summer. Young’s office was involved in filing multiple felony charges against protesters, stemming from a July 3 protest that encircled the Aurora Police Station. Organizers of that protest have been charged with kidnapping and conspiracy, among other charges.

When asked about the perception of a disparity in legal responses to protesters this summer, Allen says, “As far as any case, whether it’s protesters or people drive through protest crowds, I think it’s imperative that we evaluate the case based on the merits of the evidence and not be swayed by political pressure one way or the other, and that’s what we’re always going to do.”

During his time in the 17th Judicial District, Young was also accused of having an affair with a victim advocate in his office, who later died by suicide in 2019, according to The Colorado Sun.

Such shakeups are part of the transition of elected officials; compare Allen’s changes with those of newly elected 1st Judicial District Attorney Alexis King, who fired 10 employees, including six senior prosecutors and three deputy district attorneys, according to reporting from The Denver Post.

Though Allen now leads the 4th Judicial District, May will stay on to prosecute a case he started in 1988. “Mary Vialpondo was the victim and it went unsolved until it was solved through DNA here recently,” says May. “We were set for trial. We actually started our trial in October, we were partway through picking the jury when the court mistried the case because of concerns about COVID. I’ve been on that case since 1988. Michael Allen’s agreed that I can stay on that so I will finish that case out. That’s the only thing I’ll be doing.”

May will be paid as a contract attorney while he works on the Vialpondo case. “It’s just for a limited scope, just for that case,” says Allen. “It’s also for a limited amount of time, so it’s a prorated amount. It’s equivalent to if he were a senior deputy district attorney in the office for a year, but prorated down to only the amount of time he’s going to be here.” For context, Short, the newly promoted chief deputy district attorney, was paid $118,818, or $57.12 an hour, in 2019 as a senior deputy district attorney, according to openpayrolls.com.