When a DA and a Judge both see the wrong done to my client, and the work they do has positive impact, I feel it is important to share. District Attorneys in each county are elected positions and Judges are retained by vote. If you're a voter in Denver County, I want you to know about this case.
Of the hundreds of sentencing hearings I've attended in bike cases, this was the FIRST where we saw the driver remanded in court and taken to jail as part of the sentence imposed by the Court. More often, we see DAs reduce charges against motorists down to puny "defective headlamp" or similar, and allow the driver to pay some silly fine and be done with it. This treatment of a cycling case sends a signal to the Court that the case isn't "serious," and we often can't even argue for some hours of community service to be included in the driver's sentence. All while the cyclist's life is forever altered, and their injuries leave them forever impaired or affected.
My client and I really appreciate how this case was handled and the outcome, and we want to say THANKS.
Thank you to DA Jake Friedberg for seeing it through to the end (this was a LONG process!), for treating my client with respect and for allowing us to make our arguments to the Court - and Thank you to Judge Eliff for putting this driver in jail so she could consider the repercussions of her conduct.