Arapahoe County Court, Colorado

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The Arapahoe County Court resides in Colorado. Click on the links below to learn more about the court's...

Jurisdiction

This court holds the following jurisdiction:[1]

County courts hear misdemeanor criminal cases such as third degree assault and the more serious traffic cases such as careless driving resulting in death or hit and run. They also hear some civil cases in which the debt, damage or value of property involved does not exceed $10,000.[2]

Judges


Elections

Colorado is one of 43 states that hold elections for judicial positions. To learn more about judicial selection in Colorado, click here.

Selection method

See also: Judicial selection in the states
See also: Commission-selection, political appointment method of judicial selection

Judges of the Colorado County Courts are each appointed by the governor with the help of a commission—except in Denver, Colorado, where judges are appointed by the mayor rather than the governor.[3] Judges are initially appointed to two-year terms and then run in retention elections for four-year terms afterward.[4] To serve on this court, a judge must be a qualified elector and resident of the county and licensed to practice law in the state. Some small counties only require a high school degree or equivalent but require judges to attend an institute to learn about county court duties.

Judicial elections in Colorado

See also: Colorado judicial elections

Colorado is one of six states that use retention elections to determine whether judges should remain on the bench without using another type of election as an initial selection method. To read more about how states use judicial elections to select judges across the country, click here.

Retention election

Judges in Colorado stand for retention at the end of each term. These elections are held during the November general election in even-numbered years. In retention elections, judges do not compete against another candidate, but voters are given a "yes" or "no" choice whether to keep the justice in office for another term.

See also

External links

Footnotes