Eagle County Judge Receives Legacy Award for Mental Health Court Reforms

Aspen —“I remember watching the coverage and just being horrified as to what those conditions were,” Judge Jonathan Shamis said, recalling a television program that changed the trajectory of his life.

It was Geraldo Rivera’s Willowbrook: The Last Great Disgrace, a 1972 expose that laid bare the abuses at New York’s Willowbrook State School. Shamis was a teenager then, absorbing the images of overcrowded wards and neglected patients, feeling a deep, visceral reaction to what he saw. Decades later, that early horror has matured into a professional mission. Last month, Shamis received the Legacy Award from the Colorado Judicial Branch, recognized not just for his tenure on the bench, but for his active role in reshaping how Eagle County’s courts handle mental health and competency.

The story of Willowbrook was one of exposure, but Shamis noted that the government’s response — de-institutionalization — often left a gap in community resources. As he moved from attorney to judge, he watched that gap widen into a revolving door for the mentally ill. People committed crimes they didn’t fully control, lacked adequate treatment, and cycled back through the justice system again and again. The legal mechanisms simply weren’t built to address the root cause, only the immediate offense.

This systemic failure came with a steep price tag. In 2011, disability advocates filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Colorado, challenging the delays in mental health evaluations. The higher court established financial penalties for each day an incarcerated person sat on a waitlist, unable to understand or participate in their legal proceedings.

“We were being fined about $1 million per month because of our failure to get an evaluation done,” Shamis said. The frustration was palpable in the courtroom, where delays of three to six months for an initial evaluation could stretch into over a year if the individual was found incompetent to proceed. Shamis argued that this process often caused more harm than good, allowing individuals with diagnosable problems to deteriorate behind bars rather than receiving care.

To fix the bottleneck, Shamis looked west. He studied Los Angeles, where the system operated with a speed and efficiency that seemed almost miraculous to his colleagues. In LA, individuals would arrive at 8:30 in the morning, receive an evaluation by lunchtime, and have their competency hearing concluded by the afternoon.

Shamis didn’t just observe; he acted. He partnered with former 8th Judicial District Judge Susan Blanco to replicate that Los Angeles model in Eagle County. Their goal was to streamline the process, reducing the wait times and ensuring that justice moved as quickly for the mentally ill as it did for everyone else.

The Legacy Award acknowledges that partnership and the tangible results of their work. It recognizes a judge who looked at a broken system, felt the weight of its failures, and worked to build something better. The courtroom is no longer just a place for punishment; it has become, increasingly, a place for resolution.

Outside the courthouse doors, the air is crisp and clear, carrying the faint scent of pine from the surrounding mountains. Inside, the docket moves forward, one case at a time, with less delay and more clarity.