Colorado Legal Overview The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the Colorado state court system, comprised of seven justices elected for 10-year terms. The Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court is the head of the judiciary system. The Court of Appeals has 22 judges appointed by the Governor who then have to be elected to serve 8-year terms. There are three trial courts, including the District Courts, County Courts, and Water Courts with jurisdiction over water rights. The District Courts have general jurisdiction and the County Courts for small claims, traffic infractions, misdemeanors and some felony complaints.
Top metro Colorado areas for Legal Issues: Denver-Aurora-Boulder
1. Capital punishment is legal in Colorado. Wolf v. Colorado (1949) was a landmark case arising from the Colorado courts with national implications wherein the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the exclusionary rule that prevented states from using illegally seized evidence during a trial. In Romer v. Evans (1996), the U.S. Supreme Court threw out a Colorado constitutional amendment that sought to ban the state legislature, judiciary and executive wings from recognizing LGBT rights and protections. This ruling paved the way for Lawrence v. Texas (2003), which overturned Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) where the court had upheld laws criminalizing homosexual sex. 2. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is warning anyone who was a patient of a dentist in Denver and Highlands Ranch, Dr. Stephen Stein, to get tested for hepatitis and HIV. The department said that anyone who received IV medications while under Stein's care from September 1999 through June 2011 could be at risk. 3. Bobby Lowder, the former trustee of Auburn University, is being sued by his wife in Colorado for supposedly neglecting to repay $530,000 in earnest money after the $10.6 million sale of her Aspen home fell through.
Trending Colorado Legal Topics: The Colorado Bar Association (CBA) is a voluntary organization established in 1897, which has now grown to 17,500 members and 1,750 out of state members. The Bar exam is administered by the Colorado Supreme Court and membership of the CBA is not mandatory, although four out of five active lawyers in Colorado are members. |