Elbert County hears DA's request for prosecutors and support staff after state adds district-court judge

At a work-study session, District Attorney George Brockler asked Elbert County commissioners to commit to a share of new staff for the 20th Judicial District after the state authorized a new district-court judge and courtroom that will increase the district’s prosecutorial workload.

Brockler said the new judge requires additional personnel "—two prosecutors per courtroom," a victim-witness advocate and a legal assistant, and that the office is also seeking a senior deputy to supervise an expanded district-court team. He characterized the supplemental staffing request as a "historic one-off," saying he had not previously asked for a midyear supplemental while leading the 18th Judicial District.

The request grows out of a state decision this legislative cycle to add a criminal courtroom to the 20th Judicial District (which covers Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties). Brockler said adult felony filings in the district have risen about 22% since he left the office previously and that adult violent crimes have increased roughly 40%, increasing the need for courtroom staffing and specialty units.

Brockler described specific positions and programs the office wants to add or expand: a senior deputy for district court supervision; two additional felony prosecutors for a new courtroom; a victim-witness advocate; a legal assistant; an investigator dedicated to Elbert and Lincoln counties; a process server; a paralegal or records specialist to handle Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) and Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA) requests; a full-time staffer for the First Appearance Center to reduce reliance on law-student interns; and specialty prosecutors for human trafficking, Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) and organized-crime work. He also said the office seeks to stand up a second grand jury to pursue complex organized-crime, economic-crime and elder-abuse cases.

Brockler discussed the prosecutor-embedding opportunity with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, saying the federal office has offered to host one of the district’s prosecutors. He said embedding a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office could expand charging options in cases where federal tools are useful and would not be constrained by certain state-level limits he said affect some jurisdictions.

On timing and appointments, Brockler told commissioners that County Court Judge Boyette is retiring and that two names had been sent to the governor for consideration; he said the county has a short window ("about two weeks") to provide input on those nominees before the governor makes a selection.

Douglas County has already approved the bulk of the staffing package and Brockler asked Elbert County to agree to its portion. He characterized Elbert County’s share as roughly 6% of the district’s cost, and provided several cost and funding figures: vacancy savings to date of roughly $666,000, projected self-insurance savings of about $700,000 tied to the unwinding of the prior (18th) district, and an estimate that, without internal offsets, the Elbert share of positions for 2025 would be about $60,000. He also said the county’s share of the longer-term increase for 2026 could be around $121,000 to "more like $150,000" when the new courtroom is counted; Brockler said the courtroom’s cost is partly a July 1 implementation and that an Elbert share would be about $25,000 for 2026 for that courtroom alone.

Commissioners asked for clarifications on population apportionment and timing; Brockler said he would return with full 2026 budget materials and the PowerPoint slides and invited commissioners and the public to send questions. He said auditors have begun field work on the financial wrap-up of the 18th Judicial District and that audited results, and any returns to counties, should be known by early August after statutorily required filings.

A commissioner at the meeting said they had no problem with the DA’s request and cited Brockler’s record of running a lean operation; commissioners agreed the DA’s office should be put early in the local budget process and invited Brockler to return in late August or early September when Douglas County finalizes recommendations.

The presentation did not result in a formal vote at this session. Brockler said Douglas County has approved its portion; Elbert County commissioners did not take a binding vote at the work-study meeting and asked the DA to return with formal budget documents.