JEFFERSON COUNTY COMBINED COURT



JEFFERSON COUNTY COMBINED COURT

APPEALS TO DISTRICT COURT

FROM COUNTY COURT CIVIL OR SMALL CLAIMS

You have the right to appeal the decision of the judge or jury to a higher court.

Court clerks cannot assist you with your appeal or give you advice on whether or how to proceed. However, the following is some basic information about the appeals process. If you need further assistance, then you should consider consulting an attorney.

If you choose to appeal the judgment rendered by the County Court, then you must follow the law set forth in Rule 411 of the Colorado Rules of County Court Civil Procedure. Failure to do so may result in dismissal of your appeal.

Copies of this rule can be obtained from most public libraries.

The Appeals Process:

1. Within 15 days of the entry of final judgment, you must:

❑ Ask the County Court to set an APPEAL BOND and post that bond, in the amount and form ordered by the court, with the County Court in the Clerk of Court Office. If a Judgment was entered the Appeal bond will be the amount of the Judgment.

❑ File a NOTICE OF APPEAL & DESIGNATION OF RECORD* with the County Court in the Clerk of Court Office;

❑ Mail a copy of the NOTICE OF APPEAL & DESIGNATION OF RECORD to the opposing party;

❑ Complete the CERTIFICATE OF MAILING* form, indicating that you have mailed a copy of the NOTICE OF APPEAL and DESIGNATION OF RECORD ON APPEAL to the opposing party.

***********IMPORTANT***********

The NOTICE OF APPEAL, DESIGNATION OF RECORD ON APPEAL, CERTIFICATE OF MAILING, and the BOND should all be presented to the Clerk of Court Office at one time.

2. Within 30 days after the filing of the NOTICE OF APPEAL with the County Court, you must docket the appeal by filing a copy of the Notice of Appeal with the District Court and pay the docketing fee of $163.00. You may docket your appeal with the District Court on the same day that you file your Notice of Appeal with the County Court.

3. You must obtain a written transcript of the County Court proceedings within 40 days of entry of judgment in County Court. To do that, you must:

Order a Transcript by completing the attached TRANSCRIPT REQUEST FORM and delivering it to the Court Administration office or emailing it to jeffcotranscripts@judicial.state.co.us

❑ An assigned transcriber will contact you to request a money deposit for transcription of the court record. The transcriber charges $2.35 per page for this service. It is your responsibility to promptly pay for transcription of the court record. If you are not contacted within 10 days, you may contact Court Administration at 303-271-6196.

***********IMPORTANT***********

As a practical matter, you should not wait more than two weeks after entry of judgment to request your transcript. This will allow enough time to have the transcript prepared and for you to pay for it.

4. The Appeals Clerk will receive the transcript and prepare the record on appeal, which will include the County Court file, any exhibits admitted at trial, and the transcript.

❑ You will receive a Notice of Completion of Record. You will have 15 days to come into court and view the record.

❑ You may file an Objection as to the contents of the record on appeal within 15 days of the date of the Notice of Completion of the Record. If no objection is filed, then the record on appeal will be certified to the District Court.

5. Within 20 days after the filing of the record on appeal, you must:

❑ File a Brief with the District Court. A Brief is a written statement of relevant facts, the matters that you believe constitute error, and arguments supporting your position.

❑ Mail a copy of your Brief to the opposing party and complete a Certificate of Mailing, certifying that you mailed a copy of your brief to the opposing party, and file the Brief and Certificate with the Clerk of Court Office.

6. The opposing party may file an Answer Brief and pay the $158.00 answer fee within 20 days of being mailed a copy of your brief. The opposing party must mail a copy of the Answer Brief to you and do a Certificate of Mailing as proof you were sent a copy.

7. Once the time period for both parties to file their Briefs has expired, the District Court Judge will review the record on appeal and briefs and make a determination on the merit of the appeal. When the District Court Judge makes his/her ruling, both parties will receive written notice. Generally, the District Court Judge does not conduct a hearing for County Court appeals. His/her decision is based on the content of the lower court record and the parties’ briefs.

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