Changes to the Statutes and Rules Governing Procedures in Colorado Small Claims Courts

• Publication year: 2002
• Pages: 29

31 Colo.Law. 29 Colorado Lawyer 2002.

2002, February, Pg. 29. Changes to the Statutes and Rules Governing Procedures in Colorado Small Claims Courts

Vol. 31, No. 1, Pg. 29

The Colorado Lawyer
February 2002
Vol. 31, No. 2 [Page 29]

Features

Changes to the Statutes and Rules Governing Procedures in Colorado Small Claims Courts

by Daniel M. Winograd

The Colorado small claims courts are subject to new statutory and rule changes, effective September 2001, that were developed by two Colorado Supreme Court committees. This article provides background on the process used to develop the new statute and rules and describes the new provisions

Background

After the 1998 Judicial Conference, Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary J. Mullarkey appointed an ad hoc committee to consider possible revisions to the statutes and rules governing the conduct of small claims courts in Colorado. The committee was formed in response to a presentation made by Magistrates Ben Napheys and Dan Winograd at the meeting of the Legislative Affairs Committee during the 1998 Colorado Judicial Conference. At that meeting, Magistrate Napheys suggested that a review be made of small claims procedures and practices in light of the more than twenty-five years of experience Colorado has had with small claims courts. The Legislative Affairs Committee suggested that a separate committee be created. Shortly thereafter, Justice Mullarkey signed an order appointing the Ad Hoc Committee. The Ad Hoc Committee consisted of magistrates who are primarily assigned to small claims courts, county court judges who regularly hear small claims matters, division clerks for small claims courts and county courts, clerks of the court, and an attorney in private practice

The Ad Hoc Committee met in all-day sessions on seven occasions in 1999. Its suggestions were submitted to Justice Mullarkey in September 1999, and she solicited comments from a variety of people who had not been on the Ad Hoc Committee Those comments were considered and acted on by the Ad Hoc Committee during the remainder of 1999 and 2000. In the spring of 2001, the proposed changes in the statute governing small claims courts were sponsored by Senator Matsunaka in the Colorado General Assembly. They were approved at the end of the legislative session in May, to be effective September 1, 2001.

Justice Mullarkey then referred the question of rule changes to the Supreme Court Civil Rules Committee, which created a subcommittee to recommend rule changes to implement the statutory changes and recommend such other rule changes as might be desirable. A subcommittee of the Civil Rules Committee, chaired by Judge Raymond Satter, Presiding Judge of the Denver County Court, met throughout the summer of 2001 to consider those rule changes. Its recommendations were submitted to the...