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criminal proceedings to be remotely observable if there are sufficient resources and the proceedings are
not privileged or protected. As the Department’s web conferencing platform did provide sufficient
resources to hold virtual proceedings and to allow remote observation, the Department implemented a
livestreaming platform that allows non-participatory observation of proceedings. To facilitate the
effective implementation of HB23-1182, the Chief Justice issued Chief Justice Directive 23-02 to provide a
framework for livestreaming criminal proceedings, protecting the integrity of proceedings, and providing
appropriate levels of privacy for participants in the criminal justice process. Livestreams are open to the
public for virtual viewing of criminal proceedings without participation in the proceedings to facilitate
public access without interruption or decay of virtual proceedings. Since September 1
st
, as many as 84
channels have run concurrently, with as many as 142 viewers at one time and 31 viewers watching a single
channel. The Judicial Department expects livestreaming to be a valuable tool to enable public access to
proceedings while ensuring high-quality processing of cases. However, the Department has begun to
experience periodic issues with its network bandwidth. The Department will continue to evaluate the
source of the bandwidth issues, but at this point it is believed that the rapid expansion of livestreaming is
contributing to bandwidth interruptions that impact court proceedings.
Implementation of Accessible Website
The Judicial Department has been running a multi-phase project to meet the requirements of House Bill
21-1110 (HB21-1110), Colorado Laws for Persons with Disabilities. Currently, under the Colorado Anti-
discrimination Act (CADA), it is unlawful for any person to discriminate against an individual with a
disability. HB21-1110 adds new language that specifically applies this standard to government information
technology and expands the state's information technology accessibility standards to include all
individuals with disabilities, as defined by the ADA, instead of just people with vision problems. All
technology, hardware, and software, that is both public-facing and internal-facing including any
technology provided by or procured by a government entity that is used by the public or used by a
government entity employee is subject to these new requirements. This includes websites, applications,
kiosks, digital signage, documents, video, audio, and third-party tools. The Office of Information
Technology (OIT) has statutory authority in C.R.S. 24-85-101 to establish statewide accessibility standards
that all state agencies, including Judicial, must comply with by July 1, 2024.
The Judicial Department provides services to constituents through online services, applications, and third-
party tools. The Judicial Department was not adequately prepared, skilled, or budgeted for the digital
transformation necessary to comply with HB21-1110 and has been working to update all technology used
by the 22 judicial districts, SCAO, and the appellate courts. The scope of changes will impact every
employee and member of the public who interacts with the courts or probation. In FY23, a supplemental
budget request was approved for contractual help with expertise in the field of accessibility to inventory
digital assets, assess remediation needs, and determine training needs for Judicial staff.
The contractor has found over 8,000 digital assets that must be made accessible, with more being created
daily. The inventory has content of all formats that will require their own remediation needs and methods
with specialized training and tools. Ownership of the inventory is scattered across the Department, which
will require a significant and strong focus on change management, governance, and training to meet the
requirements of HB21-1110.