Colorado Judicial Branch: Colorado Supreme Court To Hear Arguments At Pomona High School In Arvada On October 26

Press release from the Colorado Judicial Branch:

October 21, 2021

DENVER – The Colorado Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021, at Pomona High School in Arvada before an audience of students. Limited seating for the public will be available, and all visitors to the school must wear face masks while inside.

The visit is part of the Colorado Judicial Branch’s Courts in the Community, an outreach program the Colorado Supreme Court and Court of Appeals initiated on Law Day (May 1), 1986, and will be the first one conducted in-person since the pandemic began. Courts in the Community was developed to provide Colorado high school students insight regarding the Colorado judicial system and illustrate how disputes are resolved in a democratic society. These are not mock proceedings. The court will hear arguments in actual cases from which it will issue opinions. The court generally issues opinions within a few months of the arguments.

All seven justices hear cases together. They are Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright and Justices Monica M. Márquez, William W. Hood III, Richard L. Gabriel, Melissa Hart, Carlos A. Samour Jr., and Maria E. Berkenkotter.

The two cases are:

The proceedings will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2021 in the auditorium at Pomona High School, 8101 W. Pomona Dr., Arvada, CO 80005. A question-and-answer session, during which the students may ask questions of the attorneys, will follow the arguments in each case. At the conclusion of the second argument, the students also will have the opportunity to participate in a question-and-answer session with the Supreme Court justices.

There will be a limited number of seats for the public. Audio recordings from the two arguments will be available online within one to two days of the arguments at http://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/Supreme_Court/Oral_Arguments/Index.cfm.

Editor’s Note:

The documents related to these two cases are located at: https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/Education/Materials.cfm?s=Fall&y=2021

Additional information on the Courts in the Community program is available at: http://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/Education/Community.cfm

News media organizations interested in recording the arguments may contact Jon Sarché at jon.sarche@judicial.state.co.us or 720-625-5811. The following pages contain information about expanded media coverage.

This information is provided as an e-mail service of the Colorado State Judicial Department, Office of State Court Administrator, 1300 Broadway, Suite 1200, Denver, CO 80203. To discontinue this service or update your e-mail address, please respond to this message with your name, contact information and any comments.

What: Colorado Supreme Court Oral Arguments

When: 9 a.m. – noon, Oct. 26, 2021

Where: Pomona High School, 8101 W. Pomona Dr., Arvada, CO 80005

Photo opportunities. During oral arguments, the requirements set forth in Chapter 38, Rule 3 of the Colorado Supreme Court Rules are in effect. Rule 3 is attached. Highlights include:

For information, contact Jon Sarché, (720) 625-5811.

Following each argument, during the question-and-answer interaction between the students, lawyers and justices, access is open for media opportunities without the limitations of Rule 3. All media representatives also are welcome to photograph the luncheon immediately following the cases.

Schedule:

9 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.

Opening remarks

9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

20SC646: Maphis v. Boulder

10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Justices conference; attorneys answer students’ questions

10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

20SC430: People v. Ornelas-Licano

11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Justices conference; attorneys answer students’ questions

11:45 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Justices answer students’ questions

12 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. (est.)

Small-group discussions, justices and selected students

Request for Expanded Media Coverage. Requests must be submitted at least one day prior to the proceeding as outlined in Rule 3 (submitting requests three days prior to the proceeding is appreciated to allow for response time). Requests may be made by filling out the form at https://www.courts.state.co.us/Media/request/. Contact information for counsel in the cases is provided below.

Expanded media coverage of court proceedings

The presence of expanded media coverage in the Colorado court system’s courtrooms is controlled by strict standards spelled out in Chapter 38, Rule 3 of the Colorado Supreme Court Rules effective July 1, 2010. The rule also outlines each step necessary to garner approval for such coverage.

There are several points in the Rule of particular note:

Request for expanded media coverage in Colorado state courts

Rule 3. Media Coverage of Court Proceedings

Counsel contact information:

20SC646: Joy Maphis v. City of Boulder

For the Petitioner:

Randall J. Paulsen, Randall J. Paulsen & Associates PC, 8704 Yates Dr., Ste. 100, Westminster, CO 80031, randy@rjpaulsenlaw.com

Shauna O’Brien, O’Brien Law Firm LLC, 8704 Yates Dr., Ste. 100, Westminster, CO 80031, shauna@obrientriallaw.com

For the Respondent:

Thomas A. Carr and Luia A. Toro, Office of the City Attorney, P.O. Box 791, Boulder, CO 80306, carrt@bouldercolorado.gov and torol@bouldercolorado.gov

20SC430: The People of the State of Colorado v. Jose Ornelas-Licano

For the Petitioner:

John T. Lee, Senior Assistant Attorney General, 1300 Broadway, 9th Floor, Denver, CO 80203, 720-508-6000, john.lee@coag.gov

For the Respondent:

James S. Hardy, Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, 1300 Broadway, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80203, 303-764-1400, pdapp.service@coloradodefenders.us

This press release was produced by the Colorado Judicial Branch. The views expressed here are the author’s own.