Co Law References Codearranger

---
name: co-law-references-codearranger
title: Colorado Law References
description: This skill is a matter-neutral reference catalog for Colorado civil practice. It contains the C.R.C.P. (Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure) summary, the CRE (Colorado Rules of Evidence) summary, fees-and-costs framework under C.R.S. art. 16 of title 13, local rules and Chief Justice Directives, citation format per Colorado Appellate Court conventions, key general-civil cases, and the canonical online-sources catalog. Triggers include "Colorado civil rule", "C.R.C.P.", "CRE", "C.R.S. § 13-16", "Colorado citation format", "what's the Colorado rule on X", "look up Colorado law on X". Other skills cite this one for specific rule numbers and case authorities; the heavy reference corpora (court-rules, federal-debt- laws, ucc-model, co-statutes-debt) live in this skill's `references/` subdirectory.
author: codearranger
author_url: https://github.com/codearranger/claude-legal/tree/main/plugins/co-court-docs/skills/co-law-references
license: MIT
version: 0.1.0
execution_mode: open
jurisdiction: us
practice: litigation
language: en
sources:
- title: Crs 13 22
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-13-22.md
- title: Crs 13 50
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-13-50.md
- title: Crs 13 52
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-13-52.md
- title: Crs 13 54 5
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-13-54-5.md
- title: Crs 13 54
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-13-54.md
- title: Crs 13 80
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-13-80.md
- title: Crs 13 90
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-13-90.md
- title: Crs 14 10
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-14-10.md
- title: Crs 14 13
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-14-13.md
- title: Crs 24 4
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-24-4.md
- title: Crs 4 9
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-4-9.md
- title: Crs 5 1
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-5-1.md
- title: Crs 5 16
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-5-16.md
- title: Crs 6 1
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/CRS-6-1.md
- title: Readme
  path: references/co-statutes-debt/README.md
- title: Car
  path: references/court-rules/CAR.md
- title: Cjd 00 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-00-01.md
- title: Cjd 01 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-01-01.md
- title: Cjd 04 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-04-01.md
- title: Cjd 04 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-04-02.md
- title: Cjd 04 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-04-03.md
- title: Cjd 04 04
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-04-04.md
- title: Cjd 04 05
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-04-05.md
- title: Cjd 04 06
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-04-06.md
- title: Cjd 04 07
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-04-07.md
- title: Cjd 04 08
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-04-08.md
- title: Cjd 05 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-05-01.md
- title: Cjd 05 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-05-02.md
- title: Cjd 05 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-05-03.md
- title: Cjd 05 05
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-05-05.md
- title: Cjd 06 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-06-01.md
- title: Cjd 06 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-06-02.md
- title: Cjd 06 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-06-03.md
- title: Cjd 07 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-07-01.md
- title: Cjd 07 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-07-02.md
- title: Cjd 08 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-08-01.md
- title: Cjd 08 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-08-02.md
- title: Cjd 08 04
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-08-04.md
- title: Cjd 08 05
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-08-05.md
- title: Cjd 08 06
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-08-06.md
- title: Cjd 11 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-11-01.md
- title: Cjd 11 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-11-02.md
- title: Cjd 11 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-11-03.md
- title: Cjd 12 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-12-01.md
- title: Cjd 12 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-12-02.md
- title: Cjd 12 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-12-03.md
- title: Cjd 13 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-13-01.md
- title: Cjd 14 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-14-01.md
- title: Cjd 15 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-15-01.md
- title: Cjd 16 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-16-02.md
- title: Cjd 16 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-16-03.md
- title: Cjd 21 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-21-01.md
- title: Cjd 21 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-21-02.md
- title: Cjd 22 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-22-01.md
- title: Cjd 23 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-23-01.md
- title: Cjd 23 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-23-02.md
- title: Cjd 23 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-23-03.md
- title: Cjd 23 04
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-23-04.md
- title: Cjd 23 05
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-23-05.md
- title: Cjd 85 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-85-02.md
- title: Cjd 85 06
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-85-06.md
- title: Cjd 85 09
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-85-09.md
- title: Cjd 85 18
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-85-18.md
- title: Cjd 85 19
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-85-19.md
- title: Cjd 85 22
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-85-22.md
- title: Cjd 85 23
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-85-23.md
- title: Cjd 85 25
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-85-25.md
- title: Cjd 85 27
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-85-27.md
- title: Cjd 85 31
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-85-31.md
- title: Cjd 86 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-86-01.md
- title: Cjd 87 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-87-03.md
- title: Cjd 94 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-94-01.md
- title: Cjd 94 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-94-02.md
- title: Cjd 95 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-95-01.md
- title: Cjd 95 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-95-02.md
- title: Cjd 95 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-95-03.md
- title: Cjd 95 05
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-95-05.md
- title: Cjd 96 07
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-96-07.md
- title: Cjd 96 08
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-96-08.md
- title: Cjd 97 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-97-03.md
- title: Cjd 97 04
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-97-04.md
- title: Cjd 98 01
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-98-01.md
- title: Cjd 98 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-98-02.md
- title: Cjd 98 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-98-03.md
- title: Cjd 98 06
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-98-06.md
- title: Cjd 98 08
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-98-08.md
- title: Cjd 99 02
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-99-02.md
- title: Cjd 99 03
  path: references/court-rules/CJD-99-03.md
- title: Crcp Chapter 25 Small Claims
  path: references/court-rules/CRCP-Chapter-25-Small-Claims.md
- title: Crcp County Court Rules
  path: references/court-rules/CRCP-County-Court-Rules.md
- title: Crcp
  path: references/court-rules/CRCP.md
- title: Cre
  path: references/court-rules/CRE.md
- title: Colorado Rpc
  path: references/court-rules/Colorado-RPC.md
- title: Readme
  path: references/court-rules/README.md
- title: Repeal Of Outdated Cjds 2025 4.16.2025 A11Y
  path: references/court-rules/Repeal-of-outdated-CJDs-2025-4.16.2025-A11Y.md
---

# Colorado Law References

> **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Reference catalog only. Read the cited rule,
> statute, or case in full before relying on it.

This is the **matter-neutral** reference index for Colorado civil
practice. Other skills in the `co-court-docs` plugin point here for
rule and statute citations.

## What's here

```
references/
├── civil-rules.md           # C.R.C.P. summary by rule number
├── evidence-rules.md        # CRE summary by rule number
├── fees-and-costs.md        # C.R.S. art. 16 of title 13 framework
├── local-rules.md           # Index of JD-specific local rules
├── citation-format.md       # Colorado Appellate Court conventions
├── key-cases.md             # General-civil precedents
├── online-sources.md        # Canonical URL catalog
├── legal-data-apis.md       # Programmatic-access index
├── court-rules/             # Verbatim rule text (corpus)
├── federal-debt-laws/       # FDCPA, FCRA, etc. (shared corpus)
├── ucc-model/               # Model UCC text (shared corpus)
└── co-statutes-debt/        # Colorado statute chapters most
                             # relevant to civil practice
```

## C.R.C.P. — Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure

The C.R.C.P. governs all civil proceedings in the Colorado district
courts. It is organized in three major chapters:

- **Chapter 1** (Rules 1-121) — district court rules
- **Chapter 18** (Rules 301-411) — county court civil rules
- **Chapter 25** (Rules 501-521) — small claims court

A streamlined parallel **Chapter 18** governs **county court**, which
follows the same general structure but with simplified procedures and
no presumptive C.R.C.P. 26(a)(1) initial disclosures.

Key rules every Colorado civil practitioner uses:

| Rule | Subject |
|------|---------|
| C.R.C.P. 4 | Process — summons and service |
| C.R.C.P. 5 | Service and filing of pleadings and other papers |
| C.R.C.P. 6 | Time computation |
| C.R.C.P. 8 | Pleading rules |
| C.R.C.P. 10 | Form of pleadings, motions, and other documents |
| C.R.C.P. 11 | Signing of pleadings (lawyer registration #) |
| C.R.C.P. 12 | Defenses and objections (answer due in 21 days) |
| C.R.C.P. 13 | Counterclaim and cross-claim |
| C.R.C.P. 15 | Amended and supplemental pleadings |
| C.R.C.P. 16 | Pretrial procedure — case management |
| C.R.C.P. 16.2 | Domestic relations case management |
| C.R.C.P. 26 | Discovery — disclosures and scope |
| C.R.C.P. 30 | Depositions |
| C.R.C.P. 33 | Interrogatories |
| C.R.C.P. 34 | Production of documents |
| C.R.C.P. 36 | Requests for admission |
| C.R.C.P. 37 | Motion to compel; sanctions |
| C.R.C.P. 41 | Dismissal of actions |
| C.R.C.P. 54 | Judgment |
| C.R.C.P. 55 | Default judgment |
| C.R.C.P. 56 | Summary judgment |
| C.R.C.P. 59 | Motion for new trial / amend findings |
| C.R.C.P. 60 | Relief from judgment |
| C.R.C.P. 121 | Local rules — statewide practice standards (the "Rule 121 sections" including § 1-15 motion practice) |

See `references/civil-rules.md` for a section-by-section summary.

## CRE — Colorado Rules of Evidence

The CRE closely mirrors the Federal Rules of Evidence with some
distinctive Colorado provisions:

| Rule | Subject |
|------|---------|
| CRE 101-106 | General provisions |
| CRE 201-203 | Judicial notice |
| CRE 301-302 | Presumptions |
| CRE 401-415 | Relevance and limitations (404(b) prior bad acts, 408 settlement, 411 insurance) |
| CRE 501-510 | Privileges (attorney-client, marital, journalist's shield under C.R.S. § 13-90-119) |
| CRE 601-615 | Witnesses |
| CRE 701-706 | Opinion and experts (Daubert-equivalent — CRE 702 reads like the post-2000 FRE 702) |
| CRE 801-807 | Hearsay (note the 803(6) business-records foundation and 902(11) self-authentication) |
| CRE 901-903 | Authentication |
| CRE 1001-1008 | Best evidence |

See `references/evidence-rules.md` for the section-by-section summary
and the Colorado distinctives from the FRE.

## Fees and costs — C.R.S. art. 16 of title 13

Colorado follows the **American rule** — each party bears its own
attorneys' fees unless a statute, rule, contract, or recognized
doctrine shifts. Common shifting authorities:

- **C.R.S. § 13-17-101 et seq.** — frivolous, groundless, vexatious
- **C.R.S. § 13-17.5-101 et seq.** — fees in prisoner litigation
- **C.R.S. § 13-16-122** — court costs allowable on judgment
- **C.R.S. § 13-16-104** — costs to prevailing party
- **C.R.S. § 6-1-113(2)(a)** — CCPA attorneys' fees mandatory to
  prevailing consumer
- **C.R.S. § 5-16-113(2)** — CFDCPA attorneys' fees
- **15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)(3)** — FDCPA attorneys' fees
- **Contractual fee provisions** — enforceable but **reciprocal**
  under C.R.S. § 13-17-102 in some circumstances

See `references/fees-and-costs.md` for the full cost-shifting
framework.

## Citation format — Colorado Appellate Court conventions

Colorado uses a **public-domain neutral citation** for all Supreme
Court and Court of Appeals decisions issued after January 1, 2012,
in **parallel** with the West regional reporter:

- Colorado Supreme Court (post-2012): `People v. Smith, 2020 CO 12, ¶ 15, 456 P.3d 789`
- Colorado Supreme Court (pre-2012): `People v. Jones, 252 P.3d 1191, 1196 (Colo. 2011)`
- Colorado Court of Appeals (post-2012): `Smith v. Jones, 2019 COA 45, ¶ 22, 432 P.3d 100`
- Colorado Court of Appeals (pre-2012): `Smith v. Jones, 219 P.3d 1130 (Colo. App. 2009)`

The neutral citation format is `[YEAR] CO [###]` for the Supreme
Court and `[YEAR] COA [###]` for the Court of Appeals; cite to
paragraph numbers (`¶`) rather than page numbers since the neutral
citation is paragraph-anchored.

Federal-court conventions:

- Tenth Circuit: `Spann v. Carter, 23 F.4th 1131, 1135 (10th Cir. 2022)`
- D. Colo.: `Smith v. Jones, No. 22-cv-00123, 2023 WL 1234567 (D. Colo. Jan. 1, 2023)`

Statutes:

- Colorado statutes: `C.R.S. § 13-80-103.5(1)(a)` (always with §)
- C.R.C.P.: `C.R.C.P. 12(b)(5)` (no § for rules)
- CRE: `C.R.E. 803(6)` (use periods)
- Federal: `15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b)`
- C.F.R.: `12 C.F.R. § 1006.34`

See `references/citation-format.md` for the full conventions.

## Local rules — JD-specific

Beyond the statewide C.R.C.P. 121 "local rules," each judicial
district publishes its own administrative orders and local rules.
The most commonly cited:

- **2nd JD Admin. Order 23-XX** — Denver case management
- **18th JD Local Rules** — Arapahoe / Douglas / Elbert / Lincoln
- **4th JD Local Rules** — El Paso / Teller

Plus chambers-specific **practice standards** published by individual
judges. See `references/local-rules.md` for an index.

## Key cases — general civil

A short list of Colorado civil precedents every practitioner cites:

- *Parker v. Dist. Court for City & County of Denver*, 173 Colo. 537 (1971) — pro se construction
- *Garcia v. Schneider Energy Services, Inc.*, 2012 CO 62 — frivolous-claim sanctions
- *Pham v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.*, 2014 CO 53 — declaratory-judgment standards
- *Continental Air Lines v. Keenan*, 731 P.2d 708 (Colo. 1987) — at-will employment exception
- *Lewis v. Taylor*, 2016 CO 48 — economic-loss rule
- *Town of Alma v. AZCO Const., Inc.*, 10 P.3d 1256 (Colo. 2000) — economic-loss rule origins

See `references/key-cases.md` for the expanded list.

## Online sources

The canonical URLs for Colorado law:

- **Colorado Judicial Branch**: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov
- **C.R.C.P. and CRE**: published by Colorado Judicial Branch and at https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/rules
- **C.R.S. (Colorado Revised Statutes)**: https://leg.colorado.gov/colorado-revised-statutes
- **Colorado Supreme Court opinions**: https://www.cobar.org/Casemaker (and CourtListener)
- **CCEFS**: https://www.jbits.courts.state.co.us/efiling/
- **Court records search (limited public)**: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/court-records

See `references/online-sources.md` for the full catalog and
`references/legal-data-apis.md` for programmatic access (CourtListener
API for Colorado Supreme + COA, GovInfo for federal materials).

## Composition

- Every other Colorado skill cites this one for rule numbers, statute
  numbers, and case authorities
- For the specific filing court: `co-denver`, `co-arapahoe`,
  `co-county-courts`
- For matter-specific bundles: `co-consumer-debt`, `co-family-law`

## References

- `references/civil-rules.md`
- `references/evidence-rules.md`
- `references/fees-and-costs.md`
- `references/local-rules.md`
- `references/citation-format.md`
- `references/key-cases.md`
- `references/online-sources.md`
- `references/legal-data-apis.md`
- `references/court-rules/` — verbatim rule corpus (populated by
  future `pull_co_court_rules.py`)
- `references/federal-debt-laws/` — federal-law corpus
- `references/ucc-model/` — Model UCC text
- `references/co-statutes-debt/` — Colorado statute chapters most
  relevant to civil practice