Arapahoe DA outlines staffing shortfalls, caseload pressures and phased plan to absorb Aurora filings

Amy Padden, the district attorney for the Eighteenth Judicial District, told the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners at a study session that her office is carrying heavier violent caseloads than peer metro districts and is proposing a phased hiring plan and pay‑band changes to reduce strain and prepare for a possible transfer of some municipal filings from Aurora.

"Things have been going extremely well," Padden said, then added a caveat about workload: "On average, any of our line deputy district attorneys right now has a 49 cases. Some of them have more than a 49, which is concerning." She later noted the office handled 27 homicides in the prior year and that the district ran more felony jury trials in 2024 than peer districts except Denver.

Why it matters: Commissioners heard that the office is already pursuing more homicide and serious‑violence prosecutions and that additional municipal filings from Aurora — including domestic violence cases — would further increase demand on prosecutors, victim‑services staff, court calendars and supporting units such as discovery and paralegal teams.

Padden said the office currently has about 72–73 attorney full‑time equivalents, with four vacancies at the time of the presentation and outstanding offers for three attorney positions. She said the office is "leaner" on a per‑capita and per‑attorney basis compared with other major metro judicial districts and that Denver and the Fourth Judicial District have larger attorney staffs.

To prepare for an expected July 1 start date for Aurora to begin filing some cases into the Eighteenth Judicial District, Padden proposed reducing a prior staffing ask from 10 to eight new attorneys, adding a discovery technician, and phasing hires across three start dates in 2025 with full implementation by January 2026. She said the county cost estimate for 2025 was in the mid‑six‑figure range and that departmental budget entry produced a slightly higher figure ("a little higher than $600,000") when processed in SAP.

Padden also proposed a market equity restructuring of deputy district attorney pay bands to create multiple non‑supervisory levels (DDA 1–4) and convert several senior deputy titles into assistant chief positions (supervisory) so experienced line prosecutors have a career path without promotion into supervision. She said annualized cost for the attorney pay adjustments would be about $2.95 million.

On victim services and support staff, Padden asked to convert a grant‑funded organized‑crime paralegal into a permanent FTE when Aurora's grant funding ends in October and requested one additional victim compensation specialist (salary roughly $65,000) to handle a higher volume of victim compensation claims. She said delays in victim compensation processing can harm victims and that the office retains 20% of administered victim compensation funds to cover administrative costs.

Commissioners raised courtroom capacity, speedy‑trial limits and downstream effects on the public defender and probation systems. Padden emphasized the office's interest in securing an additional county court judge through the state budget process and said she has been speaking with state legislators about that need. She warned that if the court calendar becomes congested and the prosecution is not ready, speedy‑trial obligations could lead to dismissals; she said the prosecution's readiness is not typically a lawful reason to toll speedy‑trial deadlines.

Several commissioners asked about outcomes, plea patterns and trial philosophy. Padden said most cases plead out but that homicide and other violent felonies often involve mandatory sentencing exposure and complex mitigation/aggravation considerations; she said the office does not maintain a policy of refusing plea offers in first‑degree murder cases, unlike some prior offices.

The presentation included comparative metrics: the office reported higher per‑attorney trial counts and more felony trials in 2024 than several peer districts, and Padden described an internal pairing program that teams junior prosecutors with more experienced attorneys for courtroom experience.

What the board directed: Commissioners and staff discussed phasing and fiscal timing. Padden said the July 1 phase would be the earliest hires and that some interns taking the July bar are expected to convert to full‑time deputy district attorneys in October if they pass. Budget staff and commissioners said the executive budget committee will review the requests and consider phasing and prioritization in the county budget process.

The DA concluded by framing the requests as measures to protect victims, preserve trial readiness and retain experienced prosecutors: "We need to be ready to go and make sure that we are moving forward with our cases... I don't want to have cases dismissed because we can't prosecute these cases in a timely manner," Padden said.

Ending: Commissioners thanked Padden and staff for the presentation and noted the requests will be evaluated in the county's executive budget process.