Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the El Paso County Courthouse First Appearance Center has updated the process regarding the Notice to Convert in Person Court Appearances to audio/visual advisements via WebEx. The court clerks in the First Appearance Center will review the docket the night before to vacate appearances for Defendants who are represented by an Attorney. Defendants must update the court clerks of their personal contact information prior to the advisement date or the Defendant will be required to provide contact information at the time of the advisement. The District Attorney will then receive a copy of the Defendant’s contact information to discuss potential plea deals before the next scheduled court date.
On the day of the advisement, the court clerks in the First Appearance Center will verify attendance prior to the advisement as well as after. All M1s, DUIs, and Careless resulting in death or injury will be sent to the duty division for a pretrial conference and all other cases will stay in the First Appearance Center for a pretrial starting the week of July 20 staggering 10 people at 1:30 p.m. and 10 people at 2:30 p.m.
Pre-trials that are currently set in June will be reset in the division if: (1) an attorney has entered, (2) it is a DUI, M1, or Careless resulting in Death or Injury, or (3) it would be a second pretrial in the First Appearance Center for any other case.
Should Defendants appear at the courthouse they will be instructed to call the First Appearance Center to obtain a new advisement date. All failure to appear warrants will be stayed for a period of 3 business days.
