Colorado Court of Appeals

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One of the Colorado Court of Appeals courtrooms in the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center in Denver. Colorado Court of Appeals.JPG
One of the Colorado Court of Appeals courtrooms in the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center in Denver.

The Colorado Court of Appeals (Colo. App.) is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Colorado. It was initially established by statute in 1891 and was reestablished in its current form in 1970 [1] by the Colorado General Assembly under Article VI, Section 1 of the Constitution of Colorado. [2]

Contents

The Colorado Court of Appeals was first abolished in 1905, then reinstated in 1913, and abolished again in 1917. It has held its modern jurisdiction since 1970.

Jurisdiction

The Court of Appeals has appellate jurisdiction primarily over final judgments of district courts acting as trial courts, and of approximately 33 kinds of administrative agency or board determinations. [3] It is bypassed in the case of death penalty appeals, cases in which a lower court has declared a law or ordinance to be unconstitutional, appeals from Public Utilities Commission decisions, certain appeals related to the initiative process, interlocutory relief, and the further appeal of cases already appealed from a county or municipal court to a district court judge, all of which are appealed directly to the Colorado Supreme Court. [4]

Structure

There is a single geographical division of the Colorado Court of Appeals. The court sits in three-member divisions to decide cases. The chief judge, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, assigns judges to the divisions and rotates their assignments. The Colorado Court of Appeals does not have any internal subject-matter divisions, and it does not have "en banc" review of panel decisions as the federal United States courts of appeals do.

Location

Colorado Court of Appeals in Denver Colorado Court of Appeals 2014.jpg
Colorado Court of Appeals in Denver

The court is based in Denver, but is authorized to sit in any county seat to hear cases. The court sends panels once a year to decide cases at the University of Colorado School of Law and the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver to allow law students to observe the appellate process.

The court has two courtrooms in the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center, located at 2 East 14th Avenue in Denver, Colorado.

Administration

This court also has many others employees including support staff, secretaries, law clerks, reporters, and attorneys. There are 105 court employees, including the judges.

The Colorado Court of Appeals has heard more than 100 appellate cases each year since 2012. In the past two decades the state's Court of Appeals has experienced a dramatic increase in both caseload volume and delay. Because of this, case time is measured in terms of months and years.[ citation needed ]

Judges

The Colorado Court of Appeals, located in Denver, has 22 judges. [5] The judges serve eight-year terms and are subject to retention elections. Each judge has a separate chambers located in the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center.

Judicial
District [a]
Judge [6] BornJoinedTerm endsMandatory retirementAppointed byLaw school
9th Gilbert M. Román , Chief JudgeSeptember 15, 1962 (age 62)August 1, 200520322034 Bill Owens (R) Michigan
7thJerry N. Jones1961 (age 6364)July 5, 200620322033 Bill Owens (R)Denver
5thMaria Teresa Fox1966 (age 5859)January 11, 201120302038 Bill Ritter (D) South Texas
8thStephanie DunnNovember 23, 20122032 John Hickenlooper (D)Denver
2ndElizabeth L. Harris1966 (age 5859)July 23, 201520262038 John Hickenlooper (D) NYU
4th Rebecca R. Freyre December 9, 1959 (age 65)November 16, 201520262031 John Hickenlooper (D)Denver
20thCraig R. Welling1970 (age 5455)January 16, 201720282042 John Hickenlooper (D) Colorado
17thTed C. Tow III1967 (age 5758)February 13, 201820282039 John Hickenlooper (D) Wayne
14thLino S. Lipinsky de Orlov1958 (age 6667)January 9, 201920302030 John Hickenlooper (D)NYU
3rdMatthew D. Grove1976 (age 4849)January 9, 201920302048 John Hickenlooper (D)Colorado
19thNeeti V. Pawar1969 (age 5556) [7] March 8, 201920302041 Jared Polis (D) Southern Illinois
11thJaclyn Casey Brown1981 (age 4344)May 31, 201920302053 Jared Polis (D) St. Louis
1stSueanna P. Johnson1975 (age 4950)February 13, 202020302047 Jared Polis (D)Colorado
12thChristina F. Gomez1974 (age 5051)February 27, 202020302046 Jared Polis (D) Harvard
18thDavid H. Yun1967 (age 5758)March 2, 202020302039 Jared Polis (D)Colorado
6thW. Eric Kuhn1973 (age 5152)August 16, 202120322045 Jared Polis (D)Denver
22ndTimothy J. Schutz1962 (age 6263)January 1, 202220322034 Jared Polis (D) North Dakota
16thKarl L. Schock1981 (age 4344) [8] November 7, 202220262053 Jared Polis (D)Colorado
15thKatharine E. LumNovember 30, 1983 (age 41)November 16, 202220262055 Jared Polis (D) Berkeley
13thPax L. Moultrie1979 (age 4546)January 1, 202420262051 Jared Polis (D)Denver
21stGrant T. Sullivan1984 (age 4041)January 1, 202420262056 Jared Polis (D)Colorado
10thMelissa C. Meirink1979 (age 4546)January 14, 202520282051 Jared Polis (D) Seattle
  1. Court of Appeals Judges are retained statewide, but each Judge is assigned to serve as a liaison between one of Colorado's judicial districts and the Court of Appeals.

References

1. "Columbia Law Review Association, Inc." JSTOR. Columbia Law Review, n.d. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. 2. Smith, Eduard. "Court of Appeals." Duke Law Review, n.d. Web. 5 July 2013. 3. Bryson, Elizabeth. "Colorado Judicial Branch - Court of Appeals - Homepage." Colorado Judicial Branch - Court of Appeals - Homepage. Colorado Judicial Branch, n.d. Web. 1 Aug. 2015.

  1. Colorado Revised Statutes section 13-4-101 et seq.
  2. Constitution of Colorado Article VI, § 1
  3. Colorado Revised Statutes section 13-4-102(2)
  4. Colorado Revised Statutes section 13-4-102(1)
  5. "Colorado Judicial Branch - Court of Appeals - Judges of the Court of Appeals".
  6. "Judges of the Court of Appeals". Colorado Judicial Branch.
  7. "Neeti Pawar". Forbes .
  8. Karlik, Michael (January 20, 2023). "Karl Schock, judge with 'big plans,' officially sworn in to state's Court of Appeals". Colorado Politics.