• There are 22 Judicial Districts within the state of Colorado as established by the state Legislature in 1963. The last major revision was November 2001 with the consolidation of Broomfield in the 17th Judicial District. Changes in district boundaries require a two-thirds vote of each house of the Legislature.
• As of July 1, 2011, the Colorado Judicial Branch had 318 authorized positions for justices, judges and magistrates: seven Supreme Court justices, 22 Court of Appeals judges, 175 District Court judges, and 114 County Court judges. This excludes Denver County Court judges (17), who are appointed by the mayor of Denver.
• As of July 1, 2011, the Judicial Branch employed 59 district, county and drug court magistrates, some of whom are full-time and some of whom are part-time employees. Magistrates do not preside in jury trials but do preside in hearings in all areas covered by district and county trial courts.
• There are seven water courts, one in each of the major river basins (South Platte, Arkansas, Rio Grande, Gunnison, Colorado, White, and San Juan rivers). They are divisions of the district court in that basin.
• As of July 1, 2011, justices and judges are paid: chief justice of the Supreme Court, $142,708; associate Supreme Court justices, $139,660; chief judge of the Court of Appeals, $137,201; Court of Appeals judges, $134,128; District Court judges, $128,598; County Court judges, $123,067; Magistrates $110,040.
• Probation is also the responsibility of the Colorado Judicial Branch. Managed by the chief probation officer in each judicial district, 1,200 employees prepare assessments and pre-sentence information for the courts, supervise the offenders sentenced to community programs, give notification and support services to victims, and provide special program services. As of July 1, 2010, there were more than 52,800 adults and juveniles on probation. In addition, more than 24,700 adults were on private probation or DUI monitoring.
• Forty-five senior judges, who are retired from the bench, each hear cases approximately 60 days per year in districts where there are vacancies, a backlog of cases, conflicts of interest, etc.
• The head of the Colorado Judicial Branch is the chief justice of the Supreme Court, who is elected to the position by the justices of the Court. The justices select a state court administrator to oversee the daily administration of the branch.
• Courts funded by the state’s General Fund include: Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, District Courts, and County Courts. Municipal and Denver County courts are funded by their respective local governments.
• County Court is a court of limited jurisdiction, handling misdemeanors, criminal traffic violations, civil traffic infractions, small claims, felony complaints (which may be sent to District Court), and civil cases of under $15,000.
• District Court is a court of general jurisdiction, handling criminal, civil, domestic relations, juvenile, probate, mental health, and water cases.
• In Fiscal Year 2011, there were 505,265 cases filed statewide at the County Court level, 246,728 cases filed in District Court, 2,742 in the Court of Appeals and 1,387 in the Supreme Court. There were 956 cases filed in the water courts.
• In the past 10 years, County Court filings have grown 7.56 percent. The growth was primarily in civil cases. District Court filings have grown 50.23 percent. The greatest growth occurred in civil distraint warrant (tax lien) filings during Fiscal Year 2011.
