Chief Judge Order 2020.11 COVID Court Operations to 4/10

Chief Judge Order 2020.12 Amended Work Release Furloughs

COVID-19 is a rpaidly evolving situation. Information and procedures are changing rapidly. While we are in close communiction with court administrators and will update our members and the public as we learn of changes, we encourage you to check the 4th Judicial District's website for the most up-to-date information: 

https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/District/Index.cfm?District_ID=4

Download Court Notice

In accordance with Chief Justice Order Regarding COVID-19 and Operation of State Courts, the 4th Judicial District will be operating on an emergency basis and only offering essential services ordered by the Chief Justice or Chief Judge.

ATTENTION

As a result of public health preparations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, most services at both the El Paso County and Teller County courthouses are closed for regular business. Please refer to the accompanying list for instructions on how to contact the court.

Colorado Supreme Court Order Regarding COVID-19 and Operation of Colorado State Courts

The operations order runs through April 3, 2020, and will be evaluated at that time

Download Order 

4th JD Accepting Applications for Court Appointed Counsel

For the full description, download the announcement here. Applicants can apply using this form and send their applications to: 

Scott Sosebee

Court Executive – 4^th Judicial District

719-452-5270

Governor to appoint new Court of Appeals judges

The Supreme Court Nominating Commission has nominated nine candidates for three vacancies on the Colorado Court of Appeals. The vacancies were created by the retirements of the Hon. Robert D. Hawthorne, effective Feb. 13, 2020; the Hon. Daniel M. Taubman, effective Feb. 25, 2020; and the Hon. John R. Webb, effective Feb. 29, 2020.

The nominees were selected during a Nov. 20, 2019, meeting in Denver. They are Christina Gomez, Sueanna Johnson, Marcelo Kopcow, Marsha Piccone, Susan Prose, Timothy Schutz, Sarah Wallace, Marie Williams and David Yun.

Under the Colorado Constitution, the governor has 15 days from Nov. 21, 2019, within which to appoint three of the nominees as judges on the Colorado Court of Appeals.

Comments regarding any of the nominees may be sent via e-mail to the governor at gov_judicialappointments@state.co.us

Editor’s Note: Contact information for the nominees: 

• Christina Gomez, 555 17th St., Ste. 3200, Denver, CO 80202, 303-295-8366
• Sueanna Johnson, 1300 Broadway, 8th Floor, Denver, CO 80203, 720-508-6155
• Marcelo Kopcow, 910 10th St., Greeley, CO 80632, 970-475-2665
• Marsha Piccone, 1225 17th St., Ste. 2200, Denver, CO 80202, 303-945-7418 
• Susan Prose, 1801 California St., Ste. 1600, Denver, CO 80202, 303-454-0170
• Timothy Schutz, 270 S. Tejon, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, 719-452-5359 
• Sarah Wallace, 1225 17th St., Ste. 2300, Denver, CO 80202, 303-299-7334
• Marie Williams, 14143 Denver West Pkwy., Ste. 100, Golden, CO 80401, 720-449-1195
• David Yun, 600 Grant St., Ste. 505, Denver, CO 80203, 303-866-9114

The phone numbers at Teller County Combined Court are changing effective Tuesday, October 1^st. The new numbers are as follows:

Main courts number - 719-689-7360

Fax – 719-689-7361

Jury – 719-689-7366

Division 11 – 719-689-6925

Division T – 719-689-6914

The 4th Judicial District is seeking Truancy Applicants for Court Appointed Counsel. If anyone is interested, please have them submit an application to Rachel Drechsler at rachel.drechsler@judicial.state.co.us by Thursday, October 31, 2019.

The application can be found here. 

Gov. Polis appoints El Paso County Court Judge in Fourth Judicial District

Gov. Jared Polis announced the appointment of Monica Jo Gomez as an El Paso County Court Judge in the Fourth Judicial District, occasioned by the appointment of the Honorable Jessica Curtis to the Fourth Judicial District Court.

Gomez is currently a Douglas County Court Judge, a position she has held since 2007. Her docket is comprised of criminal, civil, and small claims cases. Previously, she was a worker’s compensation lawyer for the Law Office of Steven U. Mullens (2006-2007); part-time El Paso County Drug Court Magistrate (2005-2007); professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law (2004-2006); Assistant Attorney General in the employment division of the Colorado Attorney General’s Office (2003-2004); Deputy State Public Defender in Douglas County (2001- 2003); associate attorney with Susan Fuller & Associates (2001); Deputy State Public Defender in Arapahoe County (1998-1999); Deputy State Public Defender in El Paso County (1993-1998); and law clerk for Judge Gilbert Martinez (1992-1993). Gomez earned her B.A. from the University of Northern Colorado in 1984 and her J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 1992.

Gomez’s appointment is effective immediately. 

The Fourth Judicial District Nominating Commission will meet Aug. 13, 2019, at the ElPaso County Judicial Building to interview and select nominees for appointment by the governor to the office of county judge for El Paso County. The vacancy will be created by the appointment to the District Court bench of the Hon. Jessica Curtis. The vacancy became effective July 16, 2019.

To be eligible, the applicant must be a qualified elector of El Paso County at the time of investiture and must have been admitted to the practice of law in Colorado. The current annual salary for this position is $165,795. The initial term of office of a county judge is a provisional term of two years; thereafter, the incumbent county judge, if approved by the voters, has a term of four years.

The completed application must be e-mailed to the address listed in the instructions below no later than 4 p.m. Aug. 5, 2019. 

Applications also are on the court’s home page at http://www.courts.state.co.us/Careers/Judge.cfm