Local officials and one of Colorado’s U.S. senators urged the judiciary earlier this year to explore placing a new federal courthouse and judge’s chambers in Colorado Springs, while the district court is cautioning that Congress must establish new judgeships before any expansion out of Denver occurs.

“We’re supportive of a courthouse in Colorado Springs with additional judges. But (what) comes first? Building a courthouse without a judge or a judge without a courthouse?” Jeffrey P. Colwell, the court’s clerk, told Colorado Politics.

Colorado’s U.S. District Court employs seven presidentially appointed district judges in active service, several semi-retired senior district judges and nine magistrate judges, who the district judges hire to assist with caseloads. Most work out of the pair of courthouses in downtown Denver. Only recently did Judge Gordon P. Gallagher, with chambers in Grand Junction, become the first district judge in Colorado’s history to be stationed outside of Denver.

The court’s presence in Colorado Springs is limited to leased space in a commercial building on North Wahsatch Avenue, where U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell is stationed. While Colwell said the court has heard from local leaders for years about the desire for a federal courthouse, the effort gained momentum in 2025.

On April 14, Mayor Yemi Mobolade wrote to Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer about the “deficient number of federal courthouses” in a state of nearly six million residents. He noted the policymaking body of the federal judiciary has recommended for years that Congress establish two new district judgeships for Colorado. Congress passed legislation in 2024 to provide additional judges nationwide, but then-President Joe Biden vetoed it after the election.

“Colorado Springs, located within El Paso County, Colorado, is ideally situated to host a new federal courthouse,” Mobolade wrote to Brimmer. “We ask that you inform the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts that their ongoing assessment of the existing courthouse in Colorado Springs should include an assumption that a courthouse will also support the sitting of (a district) judge.”

Then, in a nonbinding report accompanying a draft appropriations bill, the U.S. Senate suggested the Administrative Office “consult with the Chief Judge of the Colorado District Court during its ongoing analysis of the need for a new courthouse in Colorado Springs,” specifically about whether to seat a new district judge in the potential courthouse.

In a statement, the office of U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper said it submitted the report recommendation.

“We worked with El Paso County to improve access to the federal judicial system in southern Colorado. Currently, the Federal District of Colorado cannot consider seating (a district) judge in Colorado Springs due to building constraints. The language would call for it to be factored into the analysis, allowing for a new federal courthouse to be constructed,” read the statement.

A spokesperson for El Paso County said the county had asked other members of Colorado’s congressional delegation to submit similar language.

“While multiple members supported the need for a federal courthouse in Colorado Springs, we appreciate Senator Hickenlooper’s efforts to advance the language into the 2026 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill,” wrote Natalie Sosa of the county’s communications department. “With a 2020 census population of 730,395, El Paso County is a strong candidate for (a district) judge.”

Colwell, the court’s clerk, clarified that there is no standalone assessment of a possible Colorado Springs courthouse. Instead, as part of the court’s routine long-term planning, any request would go through the Denver-based federal appeals court and then to the Administrative Office for analysis and prioritization. Then, the request would head to Congress for funding.

“About the only thing we have done in our long-range plan is put a placeholder of, ‘If we got additional judges in Colorado, where can we put those?’ And one of them would presumably go in Colorado Springs,” Colwell said. “That’s when we would need a courthouse. But as far as studying costs or where it would be located or any of that, that’s not happening right now.”

He added that the recommendation in the Senate appropriations report is a new development, but Colorado Springs has made its desire for a federal courthouse clear to Brimmer and his predecessor as chief judge, Marcia S. Krieger.

“We in Denver have good, usable, plentiful space. There are districts around the country where courthouses are literally falling apart, so they’re begging for construction,” he said. “We’re not in that position right now.”