Colorado Supreme Court Decisions
The Colorado Supreme Court consists of seven justices, including a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. All seven of the justices hear each case brought before the Supreme Court in a full panel, known as en banc review. These cases generally involve appeals from the Colorado Court of Appeals, but the Colorado Supreme Court also has direct jurisdiction over certain types of cases identified by Article VI of the Colorado Constitution. These include habeas corpus cases, criminal appeals, challenges to the constitutionality of statutes, Public Utilities Commission matters, and matters involving judicial misconduct, among others. The Colorado Supreme Court has the exclusive authority to set rules of practice and procedure that govern civil and criminal cases in courts throughout the state.
Justices on the Court are appointed by the Governor of Colorado, rather than being elected by voters. When a vacancy arises, the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission must meet within 30 days to review candidates. To be eligible, a candidate must be under 72 years old, registered to vote in Colorado, and licensed to practice law in the state for the last five years. Once the Commission selects two or three finalists, the Governor will choose the new justice from that group. If the Governor does not make a selection, the current Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court will make the decision. Once a justice has been selected, they will serve for at least two years and then seek retention in the next general election. If they are retained, they will go through a retention election every 10 years thereafter.
The Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court serves as the chair of the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission. The Chief Justice appoints chief judges in the Court of Appeals and district courts, and the Chief Justice has the authority to appoint other judges to serve on state courts. The other justices elect the Chief Justice.
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Recent Decisions From the Colorado Supreme Court
Date: March 11, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 13
Docket Numbers: 22SC399, 22SC563
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of the State of Colorado has ruled that the notice-prejudice rule applies to occurrence-based, first-party homeowners’ property insurance policies. This rule allows insurance companies to deny coverage…
Date: March 11, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 14
Docket Number: 23SA277
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involves the interpretation of a provision in the Colorado Sex Offender Lifetime Supervision Act (SOLSA) that dictates the factors parole boards must consider when deciding whether to release a convicted sex…
Date: February 20, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 10
Docket Number: 08SA402
Justia Opinion Summary: In a case before the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, the defendant, Sir Mario Owens, appealed his convictions for first-degree murder, witness intimidation, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and accessory…
Date: February 20, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 9
Docket Number: 22SC671
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado was called upon to decide a matter related to the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA). The case involved a wrongful death action brought by the family and…
Date: February 20, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 11
Docket Number: 22SC936
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case from the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, petitioner Claire E. Miller and respondent Jesse A. Amos were involved in a dispute related to eviction proceedings. Miller was a tenant who lived in a home…
Date: February 20, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 8
Docket Number: 23SA146
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of the State of Colorado ruled in favor of the petitioners, GHP Horwath, P.C.; Nadine Pietrowski; Bohn Aguilar, LLC; Michael G. Bohn; and Armando Y. Aguilar, in their request to permanently enjoin…
Date: February 20, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 8
Docket Number: No. 23SA146
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of Colorado considered a petition from GHP Horwath, P.C., Nadine Pietrowski, Bohn Aguilar, LLC, Michael G. Bohn, and Armando Y. Aguilar, asking the court to permanently enjoin Nina H.…
Date: February 5, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 6
Docket Number: 22SC272
Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, Arnold Roman Martinez stole a bicycle from the garage of C.T. Pursuing Martinez in his car, C.T. pulled in front of Martinez, leading to a collision that…
Date: February 5, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 7
Docket Number: 22SC632
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Beverly Stickle sued Jefferson County after sustaining an injury from a fall in a parking structure adjacent to a county building. She claimed that a poorly marked curb, which created an optical illusion…
Date: January 29, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 5
Docket Number: 22SC250
Justia Opinion Summary: In a dispute between Adams County and the City and County of Denver over the use of a noise-modeling system instead of a noise-monitoring system at Denver International Airport, the Supreme Court of Colorado held that…
Date: January 22, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 3
Docket Number: 22SC562
Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado, the court had to decide whether Anthony Robert Smith had waived some of the claims he had raised in a pro se Crim. P. 35(c) motion by not pursuing certain…
Date: January 22, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 4
Docket Number: 22SC92
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of the State of Colorado reviewed a case involving a dispute over the methodology for implementing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) under Colorado's Urban Renewal Law (URL). The respondents, collectively…
Date: January 16, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 1
Docket Number: 22SC497
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involves attorney Grant Bursek's departure from Johnson Family Law, P.C. (MFL). When Bursek left MFL, 18 clients chose to continue their representation with him, prompting MFL to enforce an agreement that…
Date: January 16, 2024
Citation: 2024 CO 2
Docket Number: 23SA140
Justia Opinion Summary: In this criminal case, James Herman Dye was charged with murdering a woman over forty years ago. During pretrial hearings, Dye indicated that he might present evidence suggesting another person, an alternate suspect,…
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
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