Sean Murray for D.A.

My name is Sean Murray, and I am running for District Attorney of the Sixth Judicial District. The district attorney must be dedicated to keeping the community safe while also protecting the rights of the accused.  The district attorney must zealously advocate for the voices and rights of victims. A district attorney should be extremely experienced handling serious cases as well as someone with the leadership background to properly supervise a busy prosecutor’s office. Voters expect a district attorney to be rooted in the community and to consider the community’s values and concerns when making policy and reaching important decisions. I’d like to explain here why I meet these expectations and am the right candidate for the job.

I am currently the Assistant District Attorney of the Sixth Judicial District, the number two person in the office. In a smaller office like ours, there are not enough lawyers to handle all the cases coming in the door without the DA and the Assistant DA doing trial work. So in my position, I both help manage the office and shoulder a significant percentage of the felony caseload. I have taken more than 45 cases to jury trial in Colorado, many of them of the most serious type, cases involving murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and child abuse. I have also argued many cases that turn on difficult points of law in front of the Colorado Supreme Court.   

My criminal justice philosophy is to hold offenders accountable and keep the community safe but also to use diversion and restorative justice when appropriate. This is based in part on my past work as a public defender, where I was able to see things from the perspective of someone caught up in the system. It’s also based on what data analysis has shown are some of the realities of our justice system regarding disparate outcomes for minorities and unnecessary and draconian sentences for nonviolent offenders. I have spent the last 13 years developing an expertise in rehabilitation programming in problem-solving courts such as mental health courts, drug courts and veteran courts. I have worked on a statewide training and education subcommittee implementing best practices in rehabilitation courts. I have also worked for more than 12 years on local drug courts where we not only reduced crime, we also gave those struggling with addiction and mental health disorders a new lease on life. I am also the Chair of our community corrections board, working to improve our local Hilltop House.

I believe the key to operating a fair and efficient office is hiring, training and maintaining quality lawyers and staff. We are fortunate to have a highly dedicated group of people working for the office now. For example, our victim advocates Jane Foy and Carol Little have recently won statewide awards for their work.  Because many of our lawyers are relatively new to the profession, there is a strong need to mentor and provide informed legal advice. I believe one of my strengths is training attorneys to become excellent trial lawyers and most critically, to be fair.  

Perhaps the best assessment of my qualifications and ability comes in the form of endorsements made by people familiar with my work. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has endorsed me. District Attorney Christian Champagne has endorsed me. La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith and Archuleta County Sheriff Mike Le Roux have both endorsed me. State Rep. Barbara McLachlan has also given me her endorsement. There is a consensus among criminal-justice stakeholders that I am the standout candidate for this important position.

I would like people to know how much this community means to me. I met my wife, Maria Jose, here. I am raising four of my five children here and the fifth is a Marine serving overseas. It’s important to me that my children grow up feeling safe. It’s also important they see the adults in their lives working hard to build a society that is tolerant and shows compassion for those whose circumstances have led them to make poor decisions.   

We need a District Attorney’s Office that has the capacity to meet new challenges and a leader with the knowledge and vision to see and prepare for them. We need a district attorney that will be diligent in keeping the community safe and in promoting a fairer system. We need a district attorney with more than a decade of experience rehabilitating those suffering from mental health disorders and substance use disorders. I believe I can be that leader. 

–Sean Murray, Sixth Judicial D.A. candidate, Durango