Two of Colorado’s federal judges stationed on the Western Slope spoke to lawyers on Wednesday about their unique roles, the ways their workloads differ, and the need for more criminal defense lawyers to take cases outside the Front Range.

“Here in Durango, in the area that I cover, we have two Indian reservations. And all the jurisdiction for any felony-type crime is federal jurisdiction,” said U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Candelaria.

Frequently, “the public defender will have a conflict because they either represented somebody — a witness or somebody involved in other cases — then we have to hire or appoint (private) attorneys to take over these cases,” he added. “And honestly, I think we have like three or four down here. And it’s the same three or four people and they’re busy all the time.”

Candelaria, of Durango, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard T. Gurley, who sits in Grand Junction, are among the handful of federal judges whose courthouses are outside of Denver. Only U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell of Colorado Springs and U.S. District Court Judge Gordon P. Gallagher are not stationed in Denver — although Gallagher travels from his home in Grand Junction to Denver to hold hearings on occasion.

Magistrate judges are hired by the presidentially nominated, U.S. Senate-confirmed district judges to largely handle preliminary and administrative matters in cases. They also preside over federal petty criminal offenses and can handle civil cases through trial so long as the litigants consent. Full-time magistrate judges serve for renewable terms of eight years, but Gurley said that he and Candelaria are among the 24 part-time magistrate judges across the country whose terms are for four years.

Gurley, who was a Mesa County trial judge before he joined the federal bench in 2024, said he handled about 400 trials in his previous job.

“And one of the (federal) judges in the interview asked me, ‘Aren’t you gonna be bored doing this position because you’re used to doing these big heavy trials?'” Gurley recalled. “I said, ‘I’m not gonna miss getting up on a Monday morning and think about doing a sex-assault-on-a-child trial again.’ Those are not fun to do.”

Candelaria, who was a federal prosecutor before his 2019 appointment, estimated that his caseload is 98% criminal, largely stemming from offenses committed on federal lands.

“The thing is that as a part-time magistrate judge, Judge Gurley and I don’t get clerks,” he said. “They don’t assign civil cases to me because, as everyone who’s involved knows, civil cases take a lot more time than criminal cases.”

He added that, “in theory,” his position is one-third that of a full-time magistrate judge. But “given our lack of resources, we’ll spend more time on things that a full-time magistrate wouldn’t in Denver,” Candelaria added.

Gurley said that his docket looks different from Candelaria’s. While he presides over petty offenses and preliminary hearings in felony cases, he also handles civil cases in tandem with district judges. Notably, Gurley works with law clerks to screen civil cases filed by self-represented, “pro se” plaintiffs. His orders will either direct the plaintiffs to revise their complaints or will recommend dismissal of the case.

“I’d say that as a district, we’re pretty — I don’t want to say ‘lenient,’ but we give the litigants an opportunity to try to lay out their claim to where it can get through the initial review process and their issues can be heard,” Gurley said. “I’ll point out, ‘This is what the rule requires, here’s what you need to do,’ and give another opportunity to file your complaint. I’ve done that as many as four times. … But it gets to a point because we can’t be advocates for the parties.”

He added that the number of pro se cases has increased significantly in recent years, including challenges to the lawfulness of immigration detention. Those “habeas corpus” cases, which include petitions from those in immigration custody and those serving prison sentences, numbered 371 through July, he said — more than in all of 2024.

Both judges said they could use more private defense lawyers to handle criminal cases. Candelaria said public defenders all come to Durango from the Denver area, and Gurley said three attorneys who handled cases in Grand Junction have ceased their work in the past year.

“A lot of times, it’s difficult on counsel, especially defense counsel, to have to investigate their cases. To go to the reservations to try to round people up, given the geographical constraints,” said Candelaria. “So, we’re limited a lot by our geography out here and our lack of resources. … And we do with what we have, but boy, I’d sure like to see the district be more of a district of Colorado instead of a district of the Front Range. But that’s a reality I’ve been dealing with my entire career.”

Both judges have employment outside of their part-time judicial roles. Candelaria is also an attorney for a financial management company in Durango and Gurley runs an arbitration firm. However, Gurley said it is difficult to maintain private employment. When he first joined the federal bench, he asked then-Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer if he could continue as a part-time contract judge for the state judiciary.

“Although he didn’t see a problem with that, Washington did,” said Gurley. “So, I’m not able to do even a small state judge contract.”

Gurley added that he is still available five days per week to review criminal warrants, although he lets the on-duty magistrate judge in Denver handle weekend requests.

“I’ve had them in the middle of the night, doing search warrants. You basically are on call because you’re the only judge,” said Candelaria. “Interestingly enough, I don’t rely on the weekend duty magistrate judge. I have never utilized that. But that’s something I’m gonna look into.”

The virtual discussion was sponsored by the Faculty of Federal Advocates.