Court and Case Information:

Court staff will help you if they can. Remember they are not lawyers and therefore can only give procedural information and not legal advice .

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Addressing Mail to Judges:

Mail should be addressed to the Mesa County Combined Court. Addressing mail directly to judges or division clerks is discouraged since this procedure will delay the pleading. The clerks must first enter all new documents in the computer, pull the file, and prepare the file for presentation to the judge or magistrate.

Personal mail addressed to the judge should be marked “PERSONAL”.

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Business Hours:

The Clerk’s office, located on the first floor, is open from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday through Friday. The Clerk's Office phone number is 257-3640. The phones are answered between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm.

The Collection’s unit is located on the first floor, just past the clerk’s counter. It is open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday . For county court cases (traffic and misdemeanor) the office is open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. That phone number is 257-3642. For district court cases (criminal felonies and juvenile delinquent) the office is open 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Thursday. That phone number is 257-3624. The phone, for district court cases, is answered between 7:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Thursday.

The Court Assistance office is located on the first floor, just past the clerk’s counter. This office is generally open all day Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm (with an hour for lunch that varies due to appointments). That phone number is 257-8764.

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Case Copies or Research:

To obtain copies of documents that have been filed with the court OR to obtain information about specific cases (for example has there been one filed) the following information will help guide you.

How to Make a Request:

Requests for information can either be made in person or through the US Mail. The court does not accept phone call requests, faxed requests or e-mailed requests.

If you plan to mail in your request and you are asking for information about your own case you must include a copy of your driver's license.  If you are requesting information about another person's case certain documents and personal data may be withheld due to confidentiality policies.  A notarized statement from at least one of the individuals named in the case will allow you full access to the record.   Please be specific about the information or copies you wish to obtain.  Please include the case number.   If you do not have the case number include all of the information you have about the case such as the type of case, party names, approximate year of filing, etc.  Please either provide a charge card number or enclose a check with a statement in the note section "not to exceed $50" (or whatever amount you wish) for payment.  Also include a self addressed, stamped envelope for return of your documents.   Mail your request, envelope and payment to:

Mesa County Combined Court

P.O. Box 20,000-5030

Grand Junction, CO 81502

Cost of Research:

  • Copies are $ .75 per pages.

  • Certified copies are $20 each.

There is a $5 research request fee, in addition to copy charges, for all requests made through themail.

There is a $5 research request fee, in addition to copy charges, when you come to the court in person AND wish to have pulled more than 5 files or you wish to have more than five names researched on our database (it is $5 per name).

There is a $5 research request fee, in addition to copy charges, when you come to the court in person AND the case you want copies from has been microfilmed or is in off-site storage.

Timeframe:

In person, requesting 5 or less cases or names to be reviewed …. we try to complete your request while you are at the Justice Center although this is not always possible.

Via the mail or in person, requesting more than 5 cases or names …. Generally it will take up to 5 days. You will be sent your research or contacted to come back in when the research request is completed.

All requests where the cases have been microfilmed or at off-site storage … requests of this type may take up to two weeks to process.

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Case Information from ECLIPSE:

Unfortunately we are unable to provide the general public or attorneys direct access to the information that we keep on ECLIPSE, our case processing database.

You can, however, access this information through https://courtlink.lexisnexis.com.

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Court Holidays:

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - Veteran's Day

Thursday, November 27, 2008 - Thanksgiving Day

Thursday, December 25, 2008 - Christmas Day

Thursday, January 1, 2009 - New Year's Day

Monday, January 19, 2009 - Martin Luther King, Jr Birthday

Monday, February 16, 2009 - President's Day

Monday, May 25, 2009 - Memorial Day

Friday, July 3, 2009 - Independence Day

Monday, September 7, 2009 - Labor Day

Monday, October 12, 2009 - Columbus Day

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 - Veterans Day

Thursday, November 26, 2009 - Thanksgiving Day

Friday, December 25, 2009 - Christmas Day

Fee Schedule:

http://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/File/Self_Help/fees.pdf

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File Checkout Policy:

The general public is not allowed to check out files. There is a file review room in which the public can sit and review files at the Justice Center.

Attorneys or their staff may check out civil, small claims, domestic or probate files when the files are in the clerk’s office and not being processed. The person checking out the file is responsible for completing the check-out log and noting the file’s return. All files are due back in the clerk’s office prior to 4:00 p.m. the same day they are checked out. Files that have been checked out should only be taken to the attorney’s office.

Reminder: Case files are with the judge or magistrate 1-3 days prior to a hearing and in the courtroom during the hearing. The file will remain in the division until the division clerk has completed processing the case.

Please note: When reviewing or checking out a file, the pleadings may be organized with tabs or clips and some pleadings may be loose. You are responsible for returning the file to the Clerk exactly as it was. The Clerk may decline to check out files in the future to anyone who does not return a file in a timely manner or in the same condition.

Adoption, criminal, juvenile and mental health files are not available for check-out. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, civil, criminal, domestic and probate are open for review during office hours. Juvenile files are restricted access and only the charging document and sentencing information are available. Adoption, mental health, and some juvenile files are only open to the parties of record. Files must remain in the clerk’s office for review.

Felony, misdemeanor and traffic files are not available for check-out. All files may be reviewed at the clerk’s office. If a file is in a division office for action, the file may be unavailable for viewing.

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Filing of Pleadings:

  • All pleadings are file-stamped with the date they are received by the Clerk’s Office. They are generally processed the day following their receipt.
  • Pleadings must be properly captioned and include the case number. Please state on the pleading (in the signature block) which party the attorney represents (i.e., “Attorney for Plaintiff”) or which party is signing the pleading (i.e., Plaintiff or Respondent) If the pleadings are filed in person, they should be placed in the appropriate case designated filing box at the far end of the clerk’s counter.
  • A date stamp is available for your use at the clerk’s counter for stamping your copies of original pleadings filed with the court. Please, do not stamp the court’s original pleadings.
  • If a particular judge cannot be assigned to a case due to a conflict (prior law firm partner, etc.), please indicate that conflict to the clerk when filing the case.

Emergency/Priority Pleadings:

If you are filing an emergency pleading (i.e., temporary restraining order or emergency custody order) or a priority pleading (i.e., motion to continue a case that is set within a week, response to a ripe motion), red tag the pleading and advise the clerk of the nature of the emergency/priority. THE CLERK CANNOT ALLOW ANYONE TO CARRY FILES OR PLEADINGS TO THE JUDGES. If properly advised of the nature of any emergency, the clerk will handle the emergency appropriately.

New Cases – Filed by an Attorney:

All new cases, including probate, should be placed in the basket marked “New Cases”. Cases will be file-stamped with the date they are received and will be opened as soon as possible. The receipt, with the case number and assigned judge, will be placed in the attorney pick-up folder. Upon filing a probate case, requested letters will be issued and placed in the attorney pick-up folder. For County Court civil cases, a copy of the summons must be filed with the complaint when opening a case.

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Flow of Paperwork:

  • The division clerk prepares the file for the judge’s review and submits it to the judge.
  • The judge reviews the file and rules on the pleading. The file is returned to the division clerk.
  • The division clerk processes any orders that have been signed (make sure you have copies for conforming for each party or attorney that have been included with the pleading and any necessary stamped envelopes).. In District Court, the follow-up computer entry is primarily completed by the division clerk. In County Court, the case is sent back to the clerk’s office for completion of the data entry on the computer.
  • The file is then returned to the shelf in the Clerk’s Office until the cycle begins again.

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Magistrate Case Involvement:

Many of the domestic relations cases filed in this district are heard by Magistrates. Sometimes issues can be heard by a magistrate without the parties consenting, while other times parties are required to consent to having the magistrate hear their case. Generally speaking if a magistrate is hearing the domestic relations case it will be assigned as follows:

Cyphers Rubinstein Westbrook
Temporary Orders
Final Orders
Non-Contested
Contested – with consent
Affidavits for Non-Appearance
Post Decree modification
Contempts
Dept of Human Services -
Child support – new case initiated by DHS
Post decree w/DHS and child support is only issue


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Motions:

  • As a general rule, when a motion is filed it will be calendared to be pulled and reviewed 19 days from the date of filing, unless circumstances warrant an earlier ruling.
  • Please submit a proposed order with every motion filed, along with copies of the order to be conformed to all counsel of record. (If counsel are out of town, stamped, addressed envelopes should be submitted with your order.)
  • A notice to set should be submitted with all motions for temporary orders.
  • If you are requesting an expedited ruling, you should indicate so in the caption of the pleading. You should also include a proposed order to shorten the time for a response or indicate in the pleading that you have conferred with the other parties in accordance with C.R.C.P. 121-115(8) and what their position is.

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Protection Orders in Domestic Relations cases:

The court MUST have descriptive information on both parties before entering a protection order in our system (which ultimately is seen by law enforcement). The magistrates strongly suggest parties use only the forms provided on Judicial’s website when motioning the court for a protection order. These forms include everything required for a protection order. The link is:

http://www.courts.state.co.us/Self_Help/Forms/Word/jdf442.doc

If you chose to use your own forms (which is highly frowned upon) YOU MUST at least submit the completed Information Sheet for Registering a Protection Order form. It can be found on the above link too. If there is an existing domestic relations case this paperwork should all be filed in that case – please put that case number on all the papers filed.

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Return Dates – County Court:

County Court civil case summons should be returned Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:30 a.m.

County Court Forcible Entry and Detainer (FED) cases should be set 10 days from the date of filing and set at 8:30.  If you are not an attorney the summons will need to be issued by the clerk’s office. F.E.D. cases must be brought in prior to 3:00 p.m. to have the summons issued that day.

Traffic Infraction tickets are set for Tuesday and Thursdays at 8:15 a.m.

Traffic and Misdemeanor tickets are set for Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays at 8:15 a.m.

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Return Dates – District Court:

District court criminal cases are set for return of formal filings of the charges on:

Courtroom 5, Judge Robison, handles these on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:15 a.m.

Courtroom 10, Judge Flynn, handles these on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:30 a.m.

Courtroom 11, Judge Gurley, handles these on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:00 a.m.

Courtroom 12, Judge Deister, handles these on Mondays (Tuesday if the Monday is a holiday), Wednesdays and Fridays at 8:00 a.m.

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Setting Information:

Please make sure that the wording in your Notice to Set makes it very clear to the parties that they should call and NOT appear on the setting date. A Notice to Set can be confusing to a pro se party and clerks never check the hallway to see if someone has physically appeared for a setting.

District Court:

· Contact the individual division clerk to obtain a date and time for your notice to set.

The attorney, or party, who prepares the notice to set should initiate a conference call with opposing counsel and the division clerk to set the hearing. The amount of time needed for the hearing should be determined prior to the setting. Legal secretaries can do the setting, in lieu of the attorney, if the secretary can answer all questions that will be asked (i.e. length of time needed, whether a second or third setting will work, etc) and make all necessary decisions.

County Court:

· All notices to set should be set Tuesday through Friday between 2:00 PM and 2:30 PM. The date does not need to be cleared with the division clerk. The notice to set should indicate the amount of time required for the hearing/trial.

The attorney, or party, who prepares the notice to set should initiate a conference call with opposing party and the division clerk to set the hearing. The amount of time needed for the hearing should be determined prior to the setting.

Note: For ease of reference and entry to the register of actions, information on all notice to set or notices of hearings should have the following information set off and not presented in paragraph or text form:

Date:

Time:

Courtroom:

Judge:

Hearing:

Length of Hearing:

Division’s Phone Number:

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Small Claims:

Mediation:

By Administrative Order by Chief Judge Buss, in order to more timely resolve small claims disputes, all small claims cases filed in the Mesa County Court will be set for mandatory mediation. A small claims mediator will be available to mediate cases two days each week. If the parties are unable to resolve their dispute through mediation the case will be set for a date and time certain before a magistrate. There will be no charge to the parties for participating in mediation.

Attorney appearance in Small Claims:

If the defendant desires to have an attorney appear at their small claims hearing they must file a Notice of Representation by Attorney form 7 days prior to the scheduled court trial date. This form can be found under the self-help section of this webpage. The only time a small claims case is moved to a higher court is if the defendant files a counter claim that is above the small claims jurisdictional amount.

Attorneys may be present in mediation and may represent the defendant only if the Motion to Transfer was filed in a timely manner. Attorneys are not required to appear in mediation with their clients. If the parties are unable to resolve their dispute through mediation, their case will be set for a court trial before a magistrate.

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Transcript Requests:

All parties requesting a transcript of a court proceeding must complete the Transcript Request Form and mail it to the clerk's office. Transcripts are the only source of obtaining a record of court proceedings - parties are not allowed to listen to a tape or obtain a copy of a tape.

The transcriber will require that a deposit be made prior to typing the transcript. The amount of this deposit depends on many factors. As a general guideline you can expect to pay between $100 to $150 for a transcript of a one hour hearing.

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Writs of Garnishment:

Generally speaking, writs of garnishment will be issued the day following receipt of the writ by the clerk’s office. The writ will be placed in the attorney pick-up folder after issuance. The cost for issuing a writ of garnishment is $45.00 for each garnishee named in the writ.

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The Mesa County Justice Center is located at 125 North Spruce St., Grand Junction. Click here for driving directions.