Colorado’s newest judicial district in 60 years has found an office in northern Douglas County following years of planning and residents’ pushback on some proposed sites.

With a new judicial district comes the need for a new office.

The office is intended to house the diversion unit from the Justice Center in Castle Rock. It will also offer pretrial and some probation services.

The new 23rd Judicial District office opens at Lansing Point, 11045 Lansing Circle, when the district becomes active in January. It is located in a larger Meridian business park, a commercially zoned space east of Interstate 25 and south of E-470.

Douglas County commissioners approved the new center during a business meeting last month.

Beginning in January, the new 23rd Judicial District covers Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties. Arapahoe County becomes the sole entity of the 18th Judicial, which once consisted of all the four large Colorado counties. Colorado’s court system currently consists of 22 districts.

Most notably, the new location offers public transit access near a Regional Transportation District light rail station — the closest being the Lincoln Light Rail Station west of I-25. County commissioners and planners prioritized transportation in choosing the new judicial center. State mandates require convenient, public transit access for those in the judicial system seeking probationary services. Since there’s no walkway over I-25 there, “convenient” for the new office could be debatable — Google maps shows it’s a 1.2 mile, 27-minute walk. 

Some proposed locations got severe pushback from area residents.

In May, a proposed location for judicial district office next to Lone Tree’s Heritage Hills neighborhood at One Lincoln Station met stiff community backlash. This time, the Meridian location is on the opposite side of I-25 at the original Lone Tree proposal. The closest neighborhood remains Heritage Hills, located on the west side of I-25.

Hundreds of Lone Tree residents signed petitions against the proposal, expressing concerns over nearby safety and crime rates as a result of nearby probationary services.

Commissioners Abe Laydon and George Teal voted down the location, while Commissioner Lora Thomas supported the proposal to place the new office at One Lincoln Station in a building inside a business park surrounded by apartment complexes and near the Heritage Hills neighborhood and the RTD Lincoln Light Rail Station.

In response to fears of increased crime, Thomas said: “these are people that are cooperating with the services and the conditions of their bond, to cooperate with the criminal justice system.”

The office “isn’t a parole center,” Thomas added at the time.

Residential concerns led to commissioners withdrawing the Lone Tree center proposal.

The search for a new center included reviewing more than 60 properties within Douglas and Arapahoe counties, according to an October presentation from Douglas County’s Facilities Director Tim Hallmark.

During the 2020 legislative session, state lawmakers passed a resolution to create the 23rd district. Four state representatives, including Douglas County Commissioner-elect Kevin Van Winkle, sponsored the new judicial district’s proposal.

Former 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler, a Republican, defeated Democratic challenger Karen Breslin on Nov. 5 to become the 23rd District’s first district attorney.

Brauchler told The Denver Gazette Tuesday the idea for a new judicial district took off when he and Thomas discussed it a few years back.

“If you come down here to steal from us, or victimize us, you should expect to be incarcerated,” Brauchler said on Tuesday.

“Part of the criminal justice process is the idea of redemption, but it’s not the only part,” he said. “You can’t have redemption without accountability, and I am here for the accountability piece. We are going to hold people accountable for the crimes that they commit.”

The Meridian office location hasn’t met any public opposition, according to Commissioner Laydon, a resident of the Heritage Hills neighborhood.

“Lansing Point is a promise kept to our citizens after listening to their perspective,” Laydon said. “We need those critical judicial services, but not right next to homes and schools … it is accessible and highly functional in a commercial area, but not surrounded by anything other than fields.”

Ellie Reynolds, director of the Douglas County Economic Development Corp., said the new judicial center will benefit the south metro Denver area as a whole.

The new judicial center, she said, is “going to better serve a smaller area with different priorities,” adding Arapahoe County will now be able to serve different needs in its community.