Colorado Courts

Judicial Selections

All three Colorado courts, State High Court, Intermediate Appellate, and Trial Courts in Colorado have uncontested retention elections after initial appointment. All judges in Colorado are initially appointed, face a contested partisan election for a full term, and then run in uncontested retention elections for additional terms.

Some advantages of the judge election in Colorado are that people can vote and elect their judges, and elimination of a party and campaigns will help the public to focus on the professional qualification and experience of the judges. On the other hand, a huge role plays the interest groups. The interests group can influence the judge's decisions (American Bar Association).

Court System

The court system is split up into four different types of courts: Court of Last Resort (C.O.L.R.), Intermediate Appellate Court (I.A.C.), General Jurisdiction Court (G.J.C.), and Limited Jurisdiction Court (L.J.C.). C.O.L.R. is the Supreme Court. I.A.C. is the Court of Appeals. G.J.C. consists of the District Court, Denver Probate Court, Denver Juvenile Court, and the Water Court. L.J.C. consists of the County Courts and the Municipal Courts. There are 286 trial courts and 24 Appellate Courts in Colorado (NCSC, 2007).

The following are some links to the courts in Colorado:

• Supreme Court
  
• Court of Appeals
  
• District Court
  
• Denver Probate Court
  
• Denver Juvenile Court
  
• Water Court
  
• County Courts
  
• Municipal Court
  

Court Cases in Colorado

The pregnant daughter of a Wyoming representative was found shot in the head in her garage. The police believe the husband unintentionally shot his wife (Denver Post, 2009). The crime was felony manslaughter, along with other misdemeanors. Due to the fact that it is a felony manslaughter case, it would be held in district court. Since the victim was the daughter of a state representative, it is a higher profile case that would require a higher profile court.

In January of 2009, there was a case named Colorado vs Kevin Raley where the state tried Mr. Raley for professional gambling. The police arrested Mr. Raley and several others at Rafferty' Bar in Greeley, Colorado for participating in the bar's poker league. Mr. Raley was found not guilty due to a portion of the law that stated that "bona fide contests of skill" were exempt from illegal gambling (Newell, 2009). The State of Colorado is appealing the case to the District Court. They say that the question of skill in poker should not be argued in the case because poker is gambling and is illegal in Colorado. Mr. Raley and his attorney are now appealing that decision to the state's Supreme Court.


American Bar Association. (n.d.). Fact sheet on judicial selection methods in the states. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from American Bar Association Website:
http://www.abanet.org/leadership/fact_sheet.pdf

NCSC. (2007). Colorado (Court structure as of Fiscal Year 2007). Retrieved October 26, 2009, from National Center for State Courts Website:
http://www.ncsconline.org/D_Research/Ct_Struct/state_inc.asp?STATE=CO

Denver Post. (2009, October 22). Loveland man charged in fatal shooting of pregnant wife. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from the Denver Post Website:
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13613069

Newell, Jennifer. (2009, August 16). Colorado poker player to appeal case to Supreme Court. Retrieved October 24, 2009, from Poker Works website:
http://pokerworks.com/poker-news/2009/08/16/kevin-raley-appeal-colorado-poker-case-to-supreme-court.html