Lone Tree judge threatens to call ICE on defendant in courtroom

A Lone Tree municipal judge this summer improperly warned a defendant that the court would report him to federal immigration authorities — an unusual act that drew condemnation from immigrant rights groups and defense attorneys.

On July 18, Judge Lou Gresh admonished a person accused of shoplifting when he said “we report all illegal immigrants to ICE for deportation because shoplifting is a deportable offense under federal law,” according to court records reviewed by The Denver Post.

Michelle Ahronovitz, a defense attorney in the courtroom that day, said she looked around, unsure if she heard the judge correctly. Never in her career had she heard a judge utter those words from the bench, she said.

“There was definitely implicit bias and implicit racism,” she said in an interview. “It was definitely one of the most horrific municipal court experiences I’ve had as a lawyer.”

Gresh, through a city spokesman, declined an interview for this story.

In a statement, city officials said Lone Tree is not contacting immigration authorities about defendants in municipal court. The judge that day must have misspoken as he referred to the city’s counsel, making sure all defendants understood that convictions or guilty pleas could have consequences on their immigration status, said Melissa Gallegos, a city spokeswoman. .

Nicole Cervera Loy, Policy and Campaigns Manager at Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalitioncalled the judge’s language a “gross abuse of judicial power” and said the city must immediately investigate his conduct.

“The actions taken were deeply inappropriate and undermine the justice system,” Loy said. “The courtroom should be a place where justice is done, not a place where people feel intimidated or scared.”

Several judges and defense attorneys told The Post they had never heard of judges saying they would report courtroom defendants to immigration authorities.