Opinion
No. 86CA0814
Decided August 11, 1988. Rehearing Denied September 8, 1988. Certiorari Granted January 17, 1989.
Appeal from the District Court of Jefferson County Honorable Henry E. Nieto, Judge
Duane Woodard, Attorney General, Charles B. Howe, Chief Deputy Attorney General, Richard H. Forman, Solicitor General, Robert M. Russel, Assistant Attorney General, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
David F. Vela, Colorado State Public Defender, Jaydee K. Bachman, Deputy State Public Defender, for defendants-appellants.
Defendants, Ann Marie Nord and Albert Zook, appeal the judgments of conviction entered on jury verdicts finding them guilty of criminal mischief. We reverse.
Although defendants represented themselves, they sought to proceed in forma pauperis and requested a free transcript, witnesses' travel expenses, and a court-appointed investigator. The trial court denied defendants' request based, in part, on its conclusion that defendants' indigency was voluntary because they had elected to become a member of a religious order or otherwise had decided to devote all of their time to charitable purposes.
Defendants contend that the trial court abused its discretion when it denied their motion to proceed in forma pauperis on this basis. We agree in part.
Because it may arise on remand, we also address defendants' contention that they should have been allowed the services of a court-appointed investigator and expenses for witnesses.
Thus, even given defendants' status of indigency, they did not establish a proper basis for demanding the provision of these ancillary services, and the court did not abuse its discretion in denying those services to them. Nevertheless, if their status of indigency has continued, nothing herein would prevent defendants in future proceedings before the trial court from renewing their motion for such services and attempting to show that such services would be reasonably necessary or helpful to them.
The judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded to the trial court for a new trial.
Judge Tursi and Judge Jones concur.