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Colorado Supreme Court approves new rules for child welfare cases, with tweaks to jury trial right
The Colorado Supreme Court adopted on Monday a package of revisions to the rules governing child welfare cases, while modifying one section that governs when a parent surrenders their right to have a jury decide if their child is neglected. Earlier this month, the justices held a hearing to evaluate the long-running group effort to…
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Colorado justices hear about broad support for juvenile rules package, with one legal hitch
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court heard on Wednesday that a long-running group effort to revise the rules of juvenile procedure has culminated in an acceptable package of changes — including a proposed answer to one disputed legal question pending before the justices. During a public comment hearing and in written remarks submitted beforehand, members of the court…
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Colorado justices consider when parents forfeit right to jury trial in child neglect cases
For parents involved in child neglect cases, Colorado lawmakers have given them the right to ask for a jury trial on the question of whether their children are neglected — a right they give up if they fail to appear at trial. On Tuesday, members of the Colorado Supreme Court heard arguments in three cases in…
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Appeals court reverses termination of father’s parental rights after finding treatment plan impossible to comply with
Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned a Jefferson County judge’s decision that terminated a man’s legal relationship with his children, concluding it was impossible for him to fulfill the terms of his treatment plan. Jeffco initiated child neglect proceedings in September 2022 against a mother, a father identified as J.T.Q., and their four children. The…
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Colorado justices clarify threshold for accessing government files in child neglect cases
The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday rebuffed Washington County’s request to apply a tougher standard for parents who seek to access government documents in child neglect cases, instead adopting the more lenient threshold for civil proceedings. The ruling makes it easier for a father and mother in an ongoing custody case to obtain records Washington…