1975, December, Pg. 2466. LEGISLATIVE ACTION REPORT.

• Author: By Gordon G. Gauss

4 Colo.Law. 2466

Colorado Lawyer

1975.

1975, December, Pg. 2466.

LEGISLATIVE ACTION REPORT

2466Vol. 4, No. 12, Pg. 2466LEGISLATIVE ACTION REPORTBy Gordon G. Gauss,,

CBA public relations and legislative counsel The Small Claims Court

Creation of a new type of court in which lawyers couldn't practice under most circumstances is being recommended to Colorado's general assembly by the Colorado Bar Association.

A bill to set up the courts, which would handle claims of less than $500 in a simplified inexpensive manner, was written during the summer by the bar association's judicial section headed by John W. Low of Denver. It was approved by the CBA board of governors in October.

Consideration Asked

Gov. Richard D. Lamm already has been asked to place the subject before the legislature when it meets in Denver January 7. Unless he complies lawmakers cannot consider the proposal until 1977, because the constitution allows the chief executive to determine the general assembly's agenda during even-year "short" sessions, except for revenue raising measures and constitutional amendments.

Sen. Ray Kogovsek, D-Pueblo, who introduced a small claims court bill last winter and then allowed it to die when the bar association discovered flaws in it, will be the prime sponsor of the new proposal. Rep. Charles Howe, D-Boulder, will act as principal sponsor in the House of Representatives.

Provisions of the BillAs developed by the CBA drafters the bill would establish a small claims division in every county court, many of them on a part-time basis. It parallels in many respects views expressed by Barry J. Goldstein in an article in the August 1975 issue of The Colorado Lawyer.

The legislative declaration in the bill says many meritorious small civil claims are not pursued now "because of the disproportion between the expense and time of counsel and litigation and the amount of money or property involved." It also says present procedures are technical and frequently are unknown to individuals who attempt to represent themselves.

Presiding in small claims courts under the proposed bill would be either a county judge or an appointed referee operating under instructions to decide cases "in such manner as to do substantial justice between the parties."

The judge, the bill says, "shall not be bound by rules or statutes of procedure, pleading...