(1) (a) There is created the prosecution fellowship program in the department to provide moneys to the Colorado district attorneys' council to fund fellowships for persons who have recently graduated from a law school in Colorado and allow them to pursue careers as prosecutors in rural Colorado. The general assembly may appropriate moneys to the department for distribution to the Colorado district attorneys' council to implement the provisions of this article.
The program will match law school graduates for one-year fellowships with ruraldistrict attorneys' offices throughout Colorado. The initial fellowships will be awarded in fiscal year 2015-16. The program may fund the salary and benefits for up to six fellows each year. The fellows are independent contractors and not employees of the Colorado district attorneys' council. The program is limited to law school graduates from the university of Colorado school of law and the university of Denver Sturm college of law. Each law school shall contribute an equal amount toward twenty percent of the cost of the fellowship salaries if the school wants its students to be considered for the fellowship program.
The program must provide the fellows with a five-day training practicum. The Colorado district attorneys' council shall develop and present the practicum.
(2) (a) There is created the prosecution fellowship committee, which shall select the recipients of the fellowships and the fellowship locations. The committee is comprised of seven members, which include:
The executive director of the Colorado district attorneys' council, who shall serve asthe chair of the committee;
The dean of the university of Colorado school of law;
The dean of the university of Denver Sturm college of law; and
Four elected district attorneys or their designees appointed by the executive directorof the Colorado district attorneys' council.
The committee shall develop a fellow and district attorneys' offices application process and determine the selection criteria for fellows and district attorneys' office locations.
The committee shall meet at least once a year, and the meeting shall be set by thechair of the committee.
The members of the committee shall serve without compensation.
The committee shall review applications received by the program, select up to sixfellows for the particular fiscal year plus any back-up candidates as determined necessary by the committee, and select up to six district attorneys' office locations for placement of fellows each year. After selecting the fellows and the district attorneys' office locations, the committee shall match the fellows with a particular district attorney's office.
In the event that the fellow who is receiving a fellowship leaves the position, theColorado district attorneys' council shall allocate any remaining awarded program moneys to funding a new fellow, if the position is filled immediately, or to fund another fellowship. If the position is not filled immediately or another vacant position does not exist, the Colorado district attorneys' council shall return any unexpended program moneys to the department.
By January 1, 2019, the Colorado district attorneys' council shall provide a report tothe house of representatives and senate judiciary committees, or their successor committees, regarding the prosecution fellowship program. The report must include the following information regarding the placement of the fellows:
For each fellow placed, whether the fellow obtained deputy district employment withthe office where he or she was placed, with a different rural district attorney's office, or an urban district attorney's office;
A quantification of the decrease in workload for the deputy district attorneys by having the fellow placed in the particular rural district attorney's office;
Prosecutorial innovations and office improvements in the rural district attorneys' offices as the result of hosting fellows; and
Any other information regarding the efficacy of the fellowship program.
Source: L. 2014: Entire article added, (SB 14-174), ch. 232, p. 859, § 2, effective August 6. L. 2015: (1)(b) and (2)(e) amended, (SB 15-043), ch. 70, p. 188, § 1, effective April 3.