OUR COLORADO STATE COURT SYSTEM

Small Claims Courts
Jurisdictional amount – less than $7,500.00
Jurisdictional areas – civil matters

Small Claims Court is a sub-division of County Court.  Attorneys are not allowed to present or defend cases in Small Claims Court; only individuals may argue their own cases.  Small Claims Courts allows individuals a forum for a quicker and less expensive adjudication of their cases than do County Courts or District Courts.  To assist the parties in Small Claims Courts, some court sessions may be held during the day or evening hours.  Sometimes a magistrate will preside over a Small Claims Court, and there are no jury trials in Small Claims Courts.   Plaintiff are limited to filing no more than two claims per month or 18 claims per year in Small Claims Court. The defendant may ask the judge to transfer the case to County Court so that the defendant can have an attorney represent him or her.

County Court
Jurisdictional amount – less than $15,000.00
Jurisdictional areas – civil cases; criminal cases (misdemeanors, traffic infractions, felony complaints [which may be sent to District Court]), restraining orders, and small claims.

County Court decisions may be appealed to the District Court.

District Court
Jurisdictional amount – all amounts
Jurisdictional areas – civil cases in any amount; domestic relations, criminal, juvenile, probate, and mental health cases.

District Court decisions may be appealed to the Colorado Court of Appeals (or in some cases directly to the Colorado Supreme Court).

Water Court
Jurisdictional areas– water
Jurisdictional amount - all amounts

In each of the seven major river basins in Colorado there is a Water Court.  Water Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all cases pertaining to the determination of water rights, water usage,  the administration of water, and all other water matte

Denver Courts
Jurisdictional amount – same as other state courts.
Jurisdictional areas – same as other state courts.

Denver is both a city and a county. The Denver County Court acts as a municipal Court for the City of Denver and as a County Court for the County of Denver.  The Denver County Court is not part of the state court system.  The Denver District Court is part of the state court system, but it differs from the other judicial districts in the state in that it has a separate Juvenile Court and a separate probate.  Other judicial districts the District Court hears juvenile and probate cases.  The Denver Juvenile Court and the Denver Probate Court are part of the state court system.

      Court of Appeals
      Jurisdictional areas– appeals from Districts Courts and some administrative agencies

Usually, the Colorado Court of Appeals hears appeals from decisions by the District Courts, Denver Probate Court, and Denver Juvenile Court.  It also reviews decisions of several state administrative agencies. Unless one of the parties asks the Supreme Court to review the decision of the Court of Appeals, its decision is final.

Supreme Court
Jurisdictional areas – all areas

The Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the Colorado court system.  Its decision is binding on all the parties.  Although the Supreme Court usually only reviews decisions of the Colorado Court of Appeals, in certain instances, it may be asked to and may agree to review decisions of other courts and agencies.