State law protects a juror’s job. Section 13-71-134, C.R.S. says, “An employer shall not threaten, coerce, or discharge an employee for reporting for juror service as summoned.”
Military members are not exempt from jury duty in Colorado. If you are living in the County you are summoned for, you must report for Jury Service. Colorado does not consider your home of record or residence for jury duty purposes; instead, the County in which you are living controls.
The initial assignment is random. Before a trial begins, jurors may be required to complete questionnaires which provide information relevant to jury service. The parties and attorneys in the case will review this information prior to jury selection. When the jurors arrive in the courtroom, the judge will provide some initial instructions and the parties or the attorneys will ask additional questions of each juror. Each side in the case may ask the court to excuse any juror for a specific cause. Each side is also allotted a certain number of “peremptory” or discretionary challenges for which a cause need not be given. However, the law does not permit these challenges to be made in a discriminatory manner.
Each year, the Judicial Branch receives lists of all registered voters and all holders of driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards throughout the state, as well as records from the Colorado Department of Revenue. The lists are merged, duplicates and names of deceased citizens are removed, and the resulting list is divided by county location. Throughout the year, each county requests a certain number of names, based on the number of trials scheduled, which are randomly selected from the list.
By Colorado Revised Statues, Title 13, Article 71 Colorado Uniform Jury Selection and Service Act, §13-71-105 (3), you are eligible to be a trial juror, but you are not eligible to be a grand juror. However, a felony conviction may be a factor the parties consider in determining whether to keep a person on the jury.
You reside or live at least 50% of the time in the county or municipality from which you have been summoned, whether or not you are registered to vote.
You are a Citizen of the United States.
You can read, speak, and understand the English language.
You have not been selected and served as an impaneled juror in any court within the preceding twelve months, nor have you been scheduled for juror service within the next twelve months by another court. (Any person claiming this disqualification shall submit proof from the appropriate authority verifying prior or pending service.)
You do not have sole responsibility for the daily care of a permanently disabled person living in the same household, where your juror service would cause substantial risk of injury to the health of the disabled person. (If you do, you may be required to submit a statement from your doctor or authorized Christian Science practitioner to the jury commissioner as soon as possible after receipt of this summons before you may be disqualified.)
You do not have a physical or mental disability that would affect your ability to serve as a juror. (If you do, you may be required to submit a statement from your doctor or authorized Christian Science practitioner to the jury commissioner as soon as possible after receipt of your summons before you may be disqualified.)
By law, there are no economic, age-related, or occupational exclusions from jury service.
If you require an ADA accommodation for a program or service, please submit request at least 5 business days prior to the date of the program or service. Contact the jury commissioner at the court in which you have been summoned. Under the Americans with Disibilities Act, the jury commissioners can request reasonable accomodations for a person with a disability. For additional information on the Americans with Disabilities Act, please see the ADA section in the Human Resources Division under the Court Administration tab.
You have the right to one postponement. You can request a postponement by either completing the postponement section of your paper summons or by completing the postponement request online through your county's homepage. (Click on Jury using the tabs above to find your county's homepage).
Your employer has a duty under state law (§ 13-71-126, C.R.S.) to pay regular wages up to $50 per day if you are regularly employed. Employers may pay more than $50 by mutual agreement. If you are a part-time or temporary worker and have worked for the same employer for three months or more, then you are a regular employee.
The “one day/one trial” system has been in effect since 1990 and describes the length of service required for trial jurors. Grand jurors serve a term of twelve months. “One day/one trial” means that any person who is summoned and appears for service may be released from further service unless that person is assigned to a particular trial. When a juror is assigned to a trial, the length of jury service will be for the duration of that trial. In Colorado, the average length of a trial is three days.
Your employer has a duty under state law (§ 13-71-126, C.R.S.) to pay regular wages up to $50 per day if you are regularly employed. Employers may pay more than $50 by mutual agreement. If you are self-employed, you must compensate yourself for the first three days. Unemployed persons may apply for reimbursement of certain expenses during the first three days. After the third day, all jurors receive $50 per day from the state and will be required to fill out a W-9 to begin receiving payment of $50 per day. There are provisions for special hardships and certain expenses; please discuss these with the jury commissioner.
Since the summons process is random, there is no easy explanation to this question. Each name goes into the system with a different random number attached to it each year. In some counties with small populations, almost every qualified citizen will be called for jury service each year due to the number of jury trials requested. However, to help alleviate this situation, a new system was put into place in 2001 whereby an individual who receives a summons in one year will have a lower priority to be called the next year.
Basic license information is available from the Attorney Registration Office (303-866-6554 in Denver); for an attorney's disciplinary history, you can contact the Office of Attorney Regulation (303-866-6400 in Denver or toll-free, 877-888-1370).
Our Self-Help Page contains forms for various types of cases, as well as instructions on how to proceed. You can download forms from our website at no cost, or purchase them from your local courthouse, generally for a nominal fee. While court staff are prohibited by law from giving legal advice, they may be able to answer basic forms and procedural questions.
The District Attorney’s office only handles County Court and District Court criminal cases. They are not able to discuss your case with you until you appear in court. There is an exception if you live out of state and would like to discuss a plea by mail. The District Attorney’s website is located at www.co.larimer.co.us/da.
A change of address form is available from our website or may be purchased at the Clerk of Courts Office for seventy-five cents. Our fees are authorized under C.R.S. §13-32-104(1)(a) and are unaffected by Senate bill 45. For more information regarding our fees, click here to access the applicable statutes. The completed form may be filed at the Clerk of Courts Office in Loveland or Fort Collins at no charge.
If you are not on bond and have been issued a summons to appear in court for a traffic, misdemeanor or infraction, you may postpone your court date over the phone. This can be done one time only for no more than two weeks from the original appearance date. This only applies to you if you are not on bond and have not made a court appearance. You may call the Clerk's Office at (970)498-6100 to request a continuance.
If you have been issued a summons and had to post a bond, or if you have already appeared in court, you must file a motion and order with the court. Please bring two copies of the motion and two copies of the order along with a self-addressed stamped envelope for filing. If you are on Pretrial Release Supervision, you will also need to file a Consent of Surety signed by your surety.
Please keep in mind your motion may not be reviewed teh same day it is filed. Judges and Magistrates may be in court all day and not able to review your motion. Motions are generally reviewed within three weeks of filing.
DISTRICT COURT CASES:
All cases will require a motion and an order to have a court date continued. Please see the previous section for links to forms.
You may contact the courts by telephone, in person, or by e-mail. The telephone numbers for the courts can be found in the Division Directory .
The Larimer County Justice Center is open from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. The Loveland location clerk's offices are open from 8am to 4pm Monday through Friday. The Loveland clerk's office is closed from 12pm to 1pm. The Jackson County Combined Court clerk's offices are open from 8am to 1pm Monday through Thursday and are closed Fridays.
For driving directions to the Larimer County Justice Center, click here
For driving directions to the Larimer County Courthouse in Loveland, click here
For driving directions to the Jackson County Combined Courts, click here
You may request discovery from the Fort Collins District Attorney’s office by calling 970-498-7200 and requesting the Discovery Division. The Loveland District Attorney’s Office phone number is 970-679-4410. You will need your case number to access this information.
Persons ordering transcripts will be contacted directly by the court reporter or transcriber concerning payment of the appropriate fees. Transcripts will not be started and the time limits stated for delivery of transcripts will not commence until satisfactory arrangements are made with the court reporter or transcriber for the payment of required fees.
It is the requestor’s responsibility to properly pay or obtain a court order approving waiver of the fees in ordering of the transcripts.The requestor also must obtain and the reporter or transcriber must produce a dated receipt for the payment. This is to avoid any dispute as to the date, manner of payment and whether payment has in fact been made.
Copies of all or part of digital records (CD-ROM) may be ordered in County Court cases only.The official record for District Court cases is a written transcript.Orders for copies of digital records should be submitted to the Larimer Combined Court on the following request form (click here). The cost is $35.00 per hearing and payment must be made in person by cash only.A CD of the requested hearing(s) will be available within 7-10 days and will be mailed to the name and address provided by requestor on the form unless otherwise requested.
The completed form together with the required cash fee should be personally delivered to:
Larimer Combined Court
Clerk of Courts Office
201 Laporte Avenue, 1st Floor
Fort Collins, CO80521
Copies of CDs shall not be used as the official record for purposes of appeal, motions or other court proceedings with the exception of Small Claims Court.Only certified transcripts by reporters or authorized transcribers shall be used as the official records of court proceedings.
Districts are prohibited from accommodating requests to listen to recorded proceedings (tapes or CDs)
If you have further questions, you may contact Judicial Administration at (970) 498-6219.
Visa and Master Card payments can be made online for certain fines and fees, as well as restitution. Please refer to the instructions on the back of your ticket for early payment information as you may not pay online unless the case has been sentenced by the court. To pay on-line see the information below. If you have any further questions or problems, please contact the court.
Payments can be made seven days a week at https://www.jbits.courts.state.co.us/cjop/. Once you have entered the payment system select court location Larimer County for all Fort Collins cases, Larimer County- Loveland for all Loveland cases, or Jackson County for all Walden cases. Please direct all questions to the Larimer Combined/Jackson Combined Court Collections office at (970) 498-6139.
Credit card payments will also be accepted at the following court locations.
Larimer County Justice Center
201 LaPorte Avenue; Suite 100
Fort Collins, CO 80521-2761
Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM M-F
Loveland Police and Courts Building
810 East 10th Street; Suite 110
Loveland, CO 80537-4942
Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM M-F
Once the payment has cleared the Court Registry, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) requires a minimum of three working days to update their records.
If an Outstanding Judgment Warrant (OJW) fee has been assessed against you for a failure to appear in court, you will need to come to court and reach a final disposition of your case before you may pay the OJW. The entire amount of court costs, plus the OJW fee, will need to be paid in full.
The schedule for payments to clear the Court’s Registry is as follows:
Cash – 1 day
Credit Card – 1 day
Certified Bank Check – 1 day
Money Order – 14 days
Personal Check – 21 days
Plus a minimum of three days for the DMV to update their records.
You will need to surrender yourself to the Larimer County Detention Center located at 2501 Midpoint Drive, Fort Collins, Colorado which is south of Prospect Road and east of Timberline. Click here for directions to the Detention Center.
If a bond has been set, you will be released after you are able to post the bond and any bonding fee the Detention Center may charge.
If a bond has not been set, you will be incarcerated and your case will be heard at a bond hearing at which time a bond may be set. These hearings are held daily at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 1A located on the 1st floor of the Larimer County Justice Center, 201 Laporte Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado (click here for driving directions) .
In order to obtain information about your case, you will need to provide a court case number, ticket number, or your summons number in order for a clerk to look up information on your case. Without this information, you may be charged a $5.00 search fee.
To find out the next court date over the phone, you will need to provide a court case number or summons (ticket) number.
The Clerk's Office does not conduct searches over the phone. If you do not have a case number or ticket number, you may request a records search which will cost a minimum of $5.00 and up to $25.00 per hour.
A bond is typically released once a final disposition has been reached and the case is closed.
If a Personal Recognizance bond or a Surety bond was posted, it will be released electronically.
Cash bonds posted by defendants, not a co-surety, will be released and applied to any court costs, fees, or other amounts due for the case and for any other cases in which money is owed. Any remaining bond money will be returned to the defendant via mail.
Cash bonds posted by anyone other than a defendant will be returned via mail.
Bond refunds may take a minimum of two weeks to be processed.
For driving directions to the Larimer County Justice Center, click here
For driving directions to the Larimer County Courthouse in Loveland, click here
For driving directions to the Jackson County Combined Courts, click here
You may post your bond at the Larimer County Detention Center located at 2501 Midpoint Drive, Fort Collins, CO (south-east of Prospect and Timberline).
Click here for directions to the Detention Center.
Payments may be mailed to the Clerk of Combined Courts, Larimer County Justice Center, 201 La Porte Avenue, Suite 100, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521-2761.
Payments to be sent to the Larimer County Court in Loveland may be sent to 810 E. 10th Street, Suite 110, Loveland, CO 80537.
Please make your check payable to Clerk of Courts and reference your case or summons number on the check. If you are submitting a payment for someone other than yourself, please include their name along with the case number.
If the Department of Motor Vehicles did not receive your payment within 20 days from the issuance of your ticket, or if a copy of your ticket was not enclosed, your payment will be returned to you. The Department of Motor Vehicles will forward your ticket to the Larimer Combined Courts, and a case will be docketed and opened. The amount to pay your ticket will now include court costs.
No, some adults may be sentenced to unsupervised probation. Lower risk adult offenders on supervised probation may be supervised by a private company under contract with the Probation Department. Some juveniles may be placed on probation and supervised by an agency other than the Probation Department such as the Department of Human Services.
Yes, some sex offenders are on probation. Most adults are ordered to participate in the Sex Offender Intensive Supervision Program which holds them to very strict standards of conduct. Juveniles are assigned to a juvenile probation officer who only supervises sex offenders. Colorado has strict standards for supervision of sex offenders that are established by the Sex Offender Management Board.
Yes. There are 22 Judicial Districts in Colorado, each with a Probation Department. Agreements exist with all the departments so that an individual who lives in one area but is convicted of a crime in another can see a Probation Officer close to home. There are certain criteria that must be met in order for a person to transfer to another district and any person desiring such a transfer must discuss this with their current Probation Officer. Juveniles on probation may have their case transferred to their home Judicial District by the Court through the statutory change of venue process.
Yes. Colorado participates in the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision and the Interstate Compact for Juveniles which govern the movement of offenders between states. There are very specific requirements that must be met before anyone convicted of a felony, certain misdemeanors or adjudicated a delinquent will be allowed to move from the state. Generally, we cannot allow someone on Probation to move to another state without the consent of the other state. Talk to your Probation Officer about the requirements and the process. Your Probation Officer must approve of the move and you must apply to the other state through our office and be accepted by them prior to moving.
Since Colorado participates in the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision and the Interstate Compact for Juveniles which govern the movement of offenders between states it may be possible to transfer probation to Colorado. Generally, you must have family or employment to be seriously considered. Talk to your Probation Officer about the requirements and the process. You must apply through the Adult or Juvenile Compact office of the state you are in and be accepted by Colorado prior to moving.
Community Service and Useful Public Service are coordinated by the Alternative Sentencing Unit of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Department. Contact the Sheriff’s Department to register and begin completing your hours.
Information about an adult’s sentence is considered public information and is available from the District Court Clerk’s office. Juvenile information is confidential.
Adults who are on supervised probation are required by law to pay a $50 per month supervision fee. Other fines and fees plus restitution may be ordered as well. If you are unable to pay immediately, your Probation Officer will refer you to the Collections Office to set up a payment schedule that fits with your personal budget. If you are a lower risk case and supervised by the private provider who contracts with the Probation Department, your supervision fee will be paid to the provider instead of the Collection Office of the Court.
A sentence to probation is ordered by the Court after an adult defendant pleads guilty or is found guilty of a criminal offense. A juvenile may be sentenced to probation if adjudicated a delinquent by the Court because of a criminal act. The Probation Department also supervises offenders who reach an agreement for a deferred sentence or adjudication with the District Attorney’s office.
No. Community Corrections is another sentencing option available to the Judge for adults. However, technically offenders sentenced to Community Corrections are under the jurisdiction of the Probation Department and there are times when a person on probation is placed in the residential program at Community Corrections as a condition of probation. The Community Corrections facility also houses offenders who are coming to the end of their prison sentence and are transitioning back to living in the community.
No. Probation is a sentencing option imposed instead of a sentence to the Colorado Department of Corrections for adults or commitment to the Division of Youth Corrections for juveniles. Parole is a conditional release from the secure custody provided by either of these state departments. Supervision requirements may be similar and there are rare occasions when someone is on parole and probation at the same time.
The Terms and Conditions of probation are the requirements set by the Court as part of the probation sentence. Some conditions, like the necessity to remain law abiding, are required by law and others may be more directly related to the specific individual, like attending mental health counseling or paying restitution.
The Probation Department provides services to victims consistent with the Victim Rights Amendment through Victim’s Assistance Coordinators. Individual Probation Officers are responsible for enforcing restitution orders and other conditions of probation.
Unless the Court specifically places an individual on unsupervised probation, you should immediately report to the Probation Office. At that time you will be given instructions about who your Probation Officer is and when to return. If a Presentence Report was not completed as part of your sentencing process, you will be required to fill out a number of forms so that your Probation Officer has complete information about you. During the time you are on probation you will work with your Probation Officer to complete the terms and conditions of probation set by the Court. If you are a juvenile, your probation may be supervised by an agency other than the Probation Department if so ordered by the Court.
The Court will set the conditions of your probation and those will be reviewed with you by your Probation Officer. Violation of any condition may lead to the filing of a complaint with the Court and a hearing where the Court will determine if you violated your probation and if your probation will be revoked. If probation is revoked, you may be re-sentenced to probation or sentenced to Community Corrections, jail or prison if you are an adult or committed to the Division of Youth Corrections if you are a juvenile.
Drug Court is a special court designed to deal with adult and juvenile defendants whose criminal behavior is directly related to their substance abuse. Participants must be referred for screening by the District Attorney, accepted into the program by the Drug Court Team, and agree to participate. Participants appear in Court weekly and are involved in numerous other activities intended to promote substance free living.
The 8th Judicial District Probation Department contracts with a private company for the supervision of some lower risk adult offenders. In these cases, supervision fees required of every probationer are paid directly to the private company rather than the Court to directly cover the cost of supervision. The decision to refer a probationer to the private provider for supervision is made by the Probation Department after reviewing information about the defendant and the offense. The present provider is Rocky Mountain Offender Management Systems, LLC.
A presentence report is a document prepared by the Probation Department about a specific defendant. The report provides the Judge with information about the offense, victim impact and the defendant to help with the sentencing decision. Presentence reports are prepared for juveniles and adults.
The AIIM (Alternatives to Incarceration for Individuals with Mental Health Needs) Program is a joint venture between Community Corrections, Mental Health, the Sheriff’s Department and the Probation Department. Intensive supervision and treatment is provided to adults whose criminal conduct is directly linked to their mental health problems. All AIIM participants are on probation.
Restorative Justice or Restorative Community Justice is a philosophy or way of delivering justice that balances the needs of the victim, community and offender in determining the appropriate response to a criminal offense. In general, people who practice restorative justice believe that crime damages individual and community relationships and that safety and the restoration of those relationships through either voluntary or mandated actions of the offender should be the primary goal of the criminal justice system.
Adult and juvenile felony and misdemeanor offenders can be placed on probation. On rare occasions a youth adjudicated for a petty offense may be on probation. A risk assessment is conducted on each probationer to determine the level of supervision necessary to reduce the potential to re-offend. Higher risk offenders are often sentenced to intensive supervision rather than regular probation. Defendants charged with drug related offenses may have their cases assigned to Adult or Juvenile Drug Court, requiring intensive supervision directed to supporting sustained sobriety.
Job vacancies are announced on the Colorado Judicial Branch web site. Unless otherwise noted, a Judicial Branch job application form must be submitted in order to be considered for a position within the Colorado Judicial Branch. Resumes, while acceptable, must also be accompanied by the employment application.
Applications are accepted only during the time period listed on the Job Announcements section of the web site and must be submitted or postmarked by the deadline date, unless otherwise noted. Unsolicited applications will not be considered. You may/or may not have your unsolicited application returned. We do NOT retain applications on file for future vacancies, unless otherwise noted.
To apply for a specific job, note the “APPLICATIONS TO:” portion of the advertisement. You should mail or electronically send your application to the person and address listed. Submitting an application to the wrong location may result in not being considered for the position.
Job announcements are posted to the Judicial Branch website for a minimum of 10 calendar days. However, some hiring managers choose to post a position for longer periods, such as 14 days or one month.
All applications submitted in response to the Job Announcements are reviewed to identify the applicants who meet the minimum qualifications for the job. Applicants who do not meet the minimum qualifications are usually notified by mail.
During the application review process, applicants meeting the minimum qualifications are screened based on relevance of education and experience.
Applications are ‘scored’ based on a criterion of the fundamental elements of the position.
Application and resume screening is a method for separating unqualified, marginally qualified, and prospectively qualified applicants solely on the basis of the applicant's "paper credentials." This paper screening is an attempt to determine which applicants appear on paper to be the most qualified, appear to have the most suitable work experience or related background, and appear in all other respects to be right for further consideration.
Depending on the urgency to fill the position, interviews will be scheduled soon after the screening process.
Promotional Opportunity for Colorado Judicial Department Employees Only: Designation of a vacant position to be filled by a current employee in the Judicial personnel system.
Promotional Within Judicial District Only: Designation of a need to fulfill the responsibilities of the position by having an employee who is currently working for that particular Judicial District perform tasks above their current classification.
Eligibility List: A list of persons who have been found qualified for appointment to a position in the classified system. Eligibility Lists, unless otherwise noted, in the Colorado Judicial Department are valid for six months from the closing date of the original posting.
The Colorado Judicial System Personnel Rules (CJSPR) govern the employees of the Judicial Department. See related PDF and MS Word links below. PDF Format
Each position within the Judicial Branch has a certain salary range assigned to it. Based on experience and other considerable factors, newly hired employees begin their employment towards the beginning of the pay range. Approval from the State Court Administrator’s Office is required for any new hire offered above 30% of the minimum pay rate.
