Courts in Colorado

More information on Colorado's state courts:
Selection methods Elections Salaries Federal courts

In Colorado, there is one federal district court, a state supreme court, a state court of appeals, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• State court of appeals
• Trial courts

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Colorado's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

Judicial selection process

See also: Judicial selection in Colorado

Selection of the state court judges in Colorado largely relies on what is known as the Missouri Plan, or the assisted appointment method. Sixteen other states and Washington, D.C. use a similar method of judicial selection. Some courts in Colorado diverge from the Missouri Plan. The judges of the water courts are appointed by the supreme court and the judges of the municipal courts are selected by the municipal governing body. The Denver County Court is another exception. It is not part of that state system. Instead, Denver County Court judicial candidates are sent to the mayor of Denver for approval rather than the governor.^[1][2]

State and county judges are appointed to initial terms of at least two years before standing for retention. If retained, supreme court judges serve ten-year terms, court of appeals judges serve eight-year terms, district court judges serve six-year terms, and county court judges serve four-year terms.^[2]

Federal courts

The federal district court in Colorado is the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.

Appeals go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.

Active judges

Judge	Appointed By	Assumed Office	Bachelors	Law
Philip Brimmer	George W. Bush (R)	October 14, 2008 -	Harvard, 1981	Yale Law, 1985
Daniel Domenico	Donald Trump (R)	May 7, 2019 -	Georgetown University, 1995	University of Virginia School of Law, 2000
Regina Rodriguez	Joe Biden (D)	July 1, 2021 -	University of Iowa, 1985	University of Colorado School of Law, 1988
Charlotte Sweeney	Joe Biden (D)	July 18, 2022 -	California Lutheran University, 1991	University of Denver College of Law, 1995
Nina Nin-Yuen Wang	Joe Biden (D)	July 22, 2022 -	Washington University	Harvard Law School
Gordon Gallagher	Joe Biden (D)	March 24, 2023 -	Macalester College, 1991	University of Denver College of Law, 1996
S. Kato Crews	Joe Biden (D)	January 12, 2024 -		James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona, 2000

The list below displays the number of active judges by the party of the appointing president. It does not reflect how a judge may rule on specific cases or their own political preferences.

• Democrat appointed: 5
• Republican appointed: 2

Judicial selection

Judges who sit on the federal district courts are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate. These judges serve life terms. To read more about the judges on these courts, click here.

Bankruptcy courts

There is one federal bankruptcy court in Colorado. This court has subject-matter jurisdiction over bankruptcy cases. The federal bankruptcy court in Colorado is:

• United States bankruptcy court, District of Colorado

State supreme court

see also: Colorado Supreme Court

The Colorado Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort. Seven justices serve on the court. The supreme court has direct appellate jurisdiction over the review of potentially unconstitutional statutes, writs of habeas corpus and criminal appeals. The court also has special jurisdiction over any cases involving the Public Utilities Commission, water rights, summary proceedings under the election code and attorney and judge regulation.

The table below lists the current judges of the Colorado Supreme Court and the appointing governor.

State court of appeals

See also: Colorado Court of Appeals

The court of appeals is the state's intermediate appellate court. The Colorado Court of Appeals hears most of the direct appeals from the district courts. It also hears appeals of rulings made by some of Colorado's administrative agencies.

The table below lists the current judges of the Colorado Court of Appeals and the appointing governor.

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Gilbert Román	August 1, 2005 - Present	Bill Owens
Elizabeth Harris	July 1, 2015 - Present	John Hickenlooper
Craig Welling	January 16, 2017 - Present	John Hickenlooper
Lino Lipinsky de Orlov	January 9, 2019 - Present	John Hickenlooper
Matthew Grove	January 9, 2019 - Present	John Hickenlooper
Ted C. Tow	February 12, 2018 - Present	John Hickenlooper
Neeti Vasant Pawar	March 8, 2019 - Present	Jared Polis
Jaclyn Casey Brown	May 31, 2019 - Present	Jared Polis
Christina Gomez	February 27, 2020 - Present	Jared Polis
Rebecca Rankin Freyre	September 21, 2015 - Present	John Hickenlooper
Stephanie Dunn	November 23, 2012 - Present	John Hickenlooper
Terry Fox	September 1, 2010 - Present	Bill Ritter
Sueanna Johnson	February 13, 2020 - Present	Jared Polis
David Yun	March 2, 2020 - Present	Jared Polis
W. Eric Kuhn	July 7, 2021 - Present	Jared Polis
Melissa Meirink	January 14, 2025 - Present	Jared Polis
Jerry N. Jones	July 5, 2006 - Present	Bill Owens
Karl Schock	November 7, 2022 - Present	Jared Polis
Katharine Lum	November 16, 2022 - Present	Jared Polis
Grant Sullivan	January 1, 2024 - Present	Jared Polis
Pax Moultrie	January 1, 2024 - Present	Jared Polis
Timothy J. Schutz	January 1, 2022 - Present	Jared Polis

Trial courts

District courts

See also: Colorado District Courts

The district courts are the trial courts with general jurisdiction. District courts handle felony criminal matters, civil claims in any amount, juvenile matters (including adoption, dependency and neglect, juvenile delinquency and paternity actions), probate, mental health, divorce proceedings, and water cases.

The state of Colorado is divided into 22 judicial districts. District boundaries generally are aligned with county borders, however, most districts are comprised of multiple counties; only four counties are their own judicial district. The map below shows each of the 22 judicial districts.

Courts with limited jurisdiction

Colorado County Courts

See also: Colorado County Courts

County courts handle civil cases involving no more than $25,000, misdemeanor cases, felony advisements, bond setting, preliminary hearings, and traffic cases. County judges can issue search warrants, as well as restraining orders, in cases involving domestic violence.^[3]

Denver Probate Court

See also: Denver Probate Court

The Denver Probate Court is the only court of its kind in the state. It has exclusive jurisdiction over "all matters of probate, settlements of estates of deceased persons, appointment of guardians, conservators and administrators, and settlement of their accounts, the adjudication of the mentally ill, and such other jurisdiction as may be provided by law."^[4]

Denver Juvenile Court

See also: Denver Juvenile Court

The Denver Juvenile Court is the only youth-oriented court in the state. It only handles matters pertaining to minors.

Colorado Municipal Courts

See also: Colorado Municipal Courts

The municipal courts are created by local governments separate from the state judicial system, but each is subject to the rules and procedures set forth by the Colorado Supreme Court.

Colorado Water Courts

The water courts of Colorado were created by the Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969. They have jurisdiction over cases involving water matters, including the determination of water rights and the use and administration of water. Colorado has seven water courts, corresponding with the seven major river basins in the state. The Colorado Supreme Court appoints water judges.^[3][5]

In other states

Click the map below to explore the court structure in other states.

See also

• Colorado
• Judicial selection in Colorado

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Colorado Supreme Court

Footnotes