Laptop Case Rears It's Ugly Head

Two people who weren't judges await trial for stealing court owned laptops.

The investigation into former Denver City Attorney Larry Manzanares and a stolen laptop computer might be the most high-profile theft case involving the state's judiciary branch.

But it isn't the first.

As the dispute continues about whether Manzanares, a former judge, got preferential treatment, court records show two other defendants are awaiting trial on charges stemming from missing court-owned laptops.

In the Manzanares case, the state court administrator's office urged Denver police not to prosecute the city attorney after he was found with a laptop taken from the courthouse.

Records reviewed by the Rocky Mountain News show the office didn't take the same position in the two other criminal investigations.

The apparent disparity may be the result of the process. According to a judicial department spokesman, the office wasn't asked how police should handle the other cases.

"The state court administrator or state court administrator's office has never been asked before whether or not to prosecute the theft of a laptop," spokesman Robert McCallum said.

"We do not know why we were asked this question at that point in the investigation by the Denver police in the January 2007 case" involving Manzanares, he added.

Manzanares, a former county and district court judge, was an employee of the state judicial system until he was appointed Denver city attorney in January.

Rocky Mountain News