Littleton municipal court reports restorative‑justice successes, traffic citation rise and a four‑day courthouse pilot

Judge Amanda Lesman and Municipal Court staff updated the City Council on Feb. 4 about court priorities, restorative‑justice partnerships and recent caseload trends. The presentation highlighted client success stories, program metrics and operational changes adopted in 2024.

Lesman said the court uses multiple pathways — in‑person, hybrid and diversionary programs — so users can select the pathway that best supports compliance and rehabilitation. Danielle Trujillo, court staff, described two recent juvenile success stories: one juvenile completed restorative justice and another completed a probation requirement and both reportedly improved school performance and avoided further court involvement.

Trujillo reported 19 cases were referred to the court’s restorative‑justice partner in Inglewood during 2024; of those, seven completed successfully, two ended unsuccessfully and 10 remained in progress at year end. “Those are in progress because it is a six‑month commitment,” she said, explaining that the longer time frame accounts for referrals still underway.

Court staff also reported a rise in traffic citations: 2,701 citations were written into the municipal courthouse and staff attributed the year‑over‑year increase largely to traffic citation filings; a 19% increase in traffic citation filings from 2023 to 2024 was shown in the court slides. Lesman and staff noted that police may file traffic matters into municipal or county court and that counts can vary based on filing decisions.

The court has expanded problem‑solving capacity by converting an existing probation position into a role that combines restorative‑justice navigation and probation supervision; the city and the court plan an intergovernmental agreement to continue the Inglewood partnership and expect to refer about three cases per month through that pathway. Trujillo said the court’s public performance dashboard is updated monthly and lists caseload and disposition statistics.

Staff also reviewed a 2024 pilot to close the courthouse building to the public one weekday (Fridays) while maintaining phone and online services. Trujillo said the closure reduced utilities and security costs; utility savings were described as “closer to $10,000” for electricity alone in 2024. Lesman and councilmembers described the pilot as successful for cost savings and staff recommended continuing the hybrid access model while preserving remote and electronic access for users.

Lesman invited council questions about staffing needs and state legislation that could affect municipal court authority; councilors asked the city attorney and staff to watch proposed state bills including those affecting failure‑to‑appear rules. Lesman offered to brief council on any state changes that would affect court practice.