The Filing of Appeals:

Appeals of Lakewood Municipal Court cases must be filed in the Jefferson County District Court. They must follow the Colorado State Statutes, Rule 37 of the Colorado Rules of Criminal Procedure and Rule 237(b) of the Colorado Municipal Court Rules of Procedure.

ATTENTION: THIS IS AN OUTLINE OF THE APPEAL PROCEDURE. IT IS NOT A COMPLETE ADVISEMENT OF YOUR RIGHTS, NOR DOES IT REPRESENT ALL PROCEDURES THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED TO PROPERLY APPEAL YOUR CASE.

Appeals must be filed within 30 days of judgment or sentencing and include the following:

$1.50 filing fee (nonrefundable), paid separately by check, cash or money order.

$300 transcript fee, unless otherwise authorized by a judge. This amount is separate from the fines and costs. If the cost of the transcript is less than the deposit the balance will be refunded. If the transcript amount exceeds the deposit an order for the additional amount is issued. The appeal will not be prepared until the additional transcript fee is paid.

Appeal bond: Set by a Judge.

Notice of Appeal: A statement of the alleged errors of the proceedings must be filed in this court and a copy must be given to the Lakewood Prosecutor's Office.

Designation of Record on Appeal: This outlines the evidence and specific proceedings that you wish to have transcribed and included in the record of appeal forwarded to the District Court.

You must docket the appeal and pay the docket fee in the District Court: (Jefferson County Court and Administrative Facility; Court Section; 100 Jefferson County Parkway; Golden, Colorado 80401 - 6002) within thirty days of sentencing. PLEASE INFORM THE DISTRICT COURT CLERK THAT THIS APPEAL IS BEING FILED FROM A MUNICIPAL COURT CONVICTION.

Traffic cases: The court notifies the Department of Motor Vehicles of any traffic conviction within 10 days. The burden of notifying the Department of Motor Vehicles that an appeal has been filed is on the defendant or defendant’s attorney.

Once the Appeal is Filed:

Once the preparation of the appeal is complete, the Clerk of the Municipal Court will give written notice to the defense and prosecution that the preparation of the appeal is complete and may be reviewed. If objections are filed, a hearing will be set to rule on the objections. Once the record is certified it will be sent to the District Court.

Within twenty days after the record has been sent to the District Court, a written brief must be filed in the District Court outlining any legal errors made in the case. A copy of the brief must be filed with the Lakewood Prosecutor's Office. The Lakewood Prosecutor's Office will file an answer brief in the District Court and forward a copy to the defense within twenty days from receipt of your brief.

A reply to the prosecutor's answer brief may be filed within ten days of receipt of the answer brief.

After the review of the record and briefs, the District Court Judge rules on the case. The ruling may reverse the Municipal Court decision, grant a new trial, modify the Municipal Court decision, or affirm the Municipal Court decision.