Garfield County
Garfield County, Colorado, was created in 1883 and named after former U.S. President James. A. Garfield. It has a vast land area measuring 2,948 square miles, and according to the 2020 US census, 61,685 people live within its boundaries. Rifle is its largest city, and Glenwood Springs is its seat of government. The legal needs of the people of Garfield County are served by county, district, and municipal courts.
The highest court in the county is the Garfield County District Court. The District Court has general jurisdiction over all criminal and civil cases but normally handles cases beyond the jurisdiction of other courts in the county. It hears felonies, civil cases, and offenses arising from the same conditions as felonies. It also handles domestic relations, probate, and juvenile matters, including divorces, legal separation, annulment, child custody, termination of parental rights, child support, paternity, adoptions, mental health cases, and emancipation.
The County Court of Garfield County has jurisdiction over some civil and criminal cases. It handles misdemeanors, civil cases with claims under $25,000, petty offenses, and landlord/tenant disputes. It can also grant restraining order requests and issue protection orders. Garfield County has a County Associate Court in Rifle with the same jurisdiction as the County Court. The six municipal courts in Garfield County hear municipal ordinance violations and issue protection orders. They are in Rifle, Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Parachute, New Castle, and Silt.
In Garfield County, public court records are documents, exhibits, and files generated in the county courts that can be viewed and copied by the general public. These records include court schedules, court filings, warrants, writs, depositions, court proceedings, motions, and judgments from the county courts. Clerks of each court maintain court records from their respective courts.
In Garfield County, having access to public court records fosters trust in the legal system. Unless sealed by court orders, the following categories of court records are accessible to the general public in the county:
- Civil Records
- Criminal Records
- Probate Records
- Family Records
- Traffic Records
Members of the public can use the Docket Search portal to view docket listings from the county courts. They can also use the Colorado Judicial Branch Record/Document Request Form to request records from the District and County courts. Alternatively, they can visit the courts to examine or request public court records emanating from them.
