In the most significant case in our state, the People of the State of Colorado are not being represented by people from Colorado. Attorney General Phil Weiser has outsourced the prosecution of the case involving the death of Elijah McClain to civil (not criminal) lawyers in national law firms, one from Chicago, the other from Los Angeles.

Neither are licensed to practice law in Colorado.

This is unprecedented.

In 28 years of working in Colorado’s criminal justice system, I have never heard of a Colorado prosecutor contracting out the handling of a local criminal case to any attorneys imported from outside of Colorado, let alone non-criminal attorneys.

Perhaps Weiser went outside Colorado to find the best-of-the-best trial attorneys in the area of criminal prosecution of law enforcement officers – subject-matter experts in the use of force?

Nope.

Based on their law firm website biographies, neither out-of-state civil lawyer has any experience as a state prosecutor. The Chicago civil partner’s trial experience lists several areas of the law in which he has handled trials, including “trade secret disputes, products cases, trademark matters…” and the only area that arguably touches upon crime, “white collar criminal law matters.”

The Los Angeles civil partner’s bio touts his expertise in “white collar criminal defense.” His listed clients include Twentieth Century Fox, Home Depot and Shell Oil. Now, he can add the State of Colorado. Over the course of his 37 years as a California attorney, he has conducted a mere 25 trials. For perspective, most Denver metro-area prosecutors conduct more than 25 jury trials in their first few years of practice.

It appears neither civil lawyer has handled a homicide case. The death of Elijah McClain appears to be their first.

Remember that Gov. Jared Polis, finding that this specific case is a “matter of statewide importance,” specifically appointed Weiser to handle this case, because “it is necessary for the attorney general to act as the state’s prosecutor…” Weiser’s response? Outsource the matter of statewide importance to civil partners from cities nowhere near Colorado.

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Though Colorado tradition is for the elected prosecutor to personally handle the largest cases in their jurisdictions – think DAs Dougherty, Allen, Rourke, Rubenstein, Kellner – Weiser has the disadvantage of having to come to elected office with zero courtroom experience. Weiser would need to rely on experienced attorneys for this Polis-described “truly exceptional case.” He has a lot from which to choose.

In only five years under Weiser, the staff of the AG’s office has exploded by 20%. Are the attorneys he’s hired so unqualified to lead the prosecution of this important Colorado case that he is required to go far away from Colorado? Are these lightly qualified partners in a giant Richie Rich law firm better than what the AG has put on his own team? Weiser has a token representative on the team: a young attorney with fewer than 10 years experience in – you guessed it – white-collar crime.

Meanwhile, Colorado’s 22 elected district attorneys employ more than 800 prosecutors with myriad experience in handling Colorado-defined crimes – like homicide and assault (charges in the McClain case) in Colorado courts, winning cases in front of Colorado juries. Did Weiser ask any district attorneys if they, or their prosecutors, were interested in prosecuting this Colorado case? If so, did they all decline his offer? No member of the media has asked.

Heck, Adams County DA Brian Mason has dozens of super-experienced prosecutors who daily work right in the same courthouse in which Weiser’s imported attorneys are in trial in front of Adams County jurors. None of them could help out?

What does this big-firm approach to local criminal prosecution cost Coloradans? We do not know yet.

Even if these wealthy civil partners are working pro bono – for free – so what? I would happily volunteer to play center for our Nuggets, but we would get exactly what we would be paying for. It appears big-firm, out-of-state lawyers like spending big firm-like dollars on out-of-state experts. For instance, from day two of the trial, we know Weiser’s out-of-state team handpicked a Los Angeles-based expert to clean up the audio and video from police body-worn cameras. At a work rate of $445-per-hour, the LA expert has already racked up bills to Colorado taxpayers of $125,000. His rate to testify is $525-per-hour. It remains to be seen what the additional cost of his Colorado-funded airfare, hotel and hours on the stand will be. The two experts handpicked by Weiser’s tourist attorneys to contradict the opinions of the Colorado-based medical examiner in front of the McClain grand jury are also rumored to be from out of state. How much did Weiser pay for their opinions? And testimony?

Apparently, nobody in Colorado does any of this work. And for less.

Was any of this shared with Gov. Polis, who appointed Phil to handle the case? Was this shared with voters as Weiser sought re-election? Was any of this shared with the devastated and grieving McClain family?

A Colorado criminal case in Colorado courts in front of Colorado jurors involving Colorado police and paramedics accused of killing an innocent Colorado man on Colorado streets is being prosecuted in Colorado’s name by civil attorneys who do not live here using paid experts who are not from here. Regardless of the jury’s verdict, this is unprecedented and unnecessary. Colorado can do better. Elijah McClain deserved better.

George Brauchler is the former district attorney for the 18th Judicial District. He also is an Owens Early Criminal Justice Fellow at the Common Sense Institute and president of the Advance Colorado Academy, which identifies, trains and connects conservative leaders in Colorado. He hosts “The George Brauchler Show” on 710KNUS Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow him on Twitter: @GeorgeBrauchler.