The Colorado Supreme Court and Court of Appeals provide an educational outreach program for high schools which introduces students to the state’s appellate process. In the program, Courts in the Community, each court travels at least once a year to a different school to hear oral arguments in two real cases at each location. In fall 2021, the program was suspended in an effort to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Courts in the Community began on Law Day in 1986. The program gives students hands-on experience in how the Colorado judicial system works and illustrates how disputes are resolved in a democratic society. These are not mock proceedings. They are oral arguments in actual cases from which official opinions are issued. Cases are chosen by specifically considering the interests of students.