Published opinions issued by the Colorado Supreme Court and Colorado Court of Appeals dating to 1871 are now available free of charge through a new website, according to an announcement from the state judicial department.
The judicial department noted it hired a vendor in 2022 through a competitive bidding process to comply with the terms of House Bill 22-1091. The bill called for the department to build a website that allowed public access to all Supreme Court opinions and all published opinions of the Court of Appeals, or those opinions selected by that court as setting precedent in case law. Later this year, the department noted all Court of Appeals unpublished opinions will be added to the new site.
“This new website, offering free and easy access to every opinion by both of Colorado’s appellate courts, provides anybody with important information as they make decisions about their own legal matters or simply seek to study the law,” said Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian Boatright in an announcement. “We were happy to work with the sponsors of this important legislation to make this valuable service available.”
Boatright also said in the announcement he was pleased with the choice of the bill’s short title: the “Justice Gregory Hobbs Public Access to Case Law Act” to honor the memory of the former Colorado Supreme Court justice who was a passionate advocate for improving Coloradans’ access to justice through the courts.
The website will be updated within a day each time new opinions are issued: Mondays for the Supreme Court and Thursdays for the Court of Appeals.