| Overview of the History Page |
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| This page contains a brief history of the Seventeenth Judicial District rather than with specific judges or others who have served the district. For historical information regarding the judges who have served in the Seventeenth Judicial District since its inception, you may either watch the Judges of the Seventeenth Judicial District Slide Show or visit Judges of the Seventeenth Judicial District, 1959 to Date for more historical information. Visit the Courthouse at 22 South Fourth Avenue, Brighton, Colorado One Hundred Year Anniversary to learn about the building's years of service. Watch the Courthouses 1902 to Date Slide Show for more historical photographs and information regarding the courts buildings. |
| When Colorado was granted statehood in 1876, the geographic area which is now Adams County
was part of Arapahoe County. Arapahoe County was a large county
that covered a significant portion of eastern Colorado and included
not only the territory that is currently Adams County, but also
included the City of Denver.
At the turn of the twentieth century, there were thirteen judicial districts in the State of Colorado. Only Arapahoe, Pueblo and El Paso Counties had two judges. All other districts had one judge allocated to them by Colorado law. |
| In 1902, Adams County was
formed by combined legislative action and a vote of the people of the State of Colorado. On
November 8, 1904, the citizens of the newly formed county selected Brighton,
Colorado as
the permanent county seat for Adams County.
The first Adams County courthouse was located at 34 South Fifth Avenue in Brighton in the home of Daniel F. Carmichael, a Denver real estate developer. When a fire destroyed the structure in January, 1904, the courthouse was relocated to a rented house at Third Avenue and Bridge Street in Brighton. All county business was conducted out of this building until May, 1906, when a new courthouse was completed at 22 South Fourth Avenue in Brighton. This building is still used as part of the Brighton Municipal government complex. Though Adams County had its own county seat and county courthouse, it remained part of the First Judicial District with Arapahoe, Jefferson, Gilpin and Clear Creek Counties for another fifty-one years. |
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| Creation and Expansion of the Seventeenth Judicial District | ||
| In 1959, the Colorado Legislature enacted
legislation which created a separate judicial district for Adams County.
This judicial district,
the Seventeenth Judicial District, had two district court judges and one
county court judge. Approximately three years after the
Seventeenth Judicial District was created, the Adams County Hall of Justice,
located at 1931 East Bridge Street in Brighton, Colorado was opened in
1963. This facility continued to
be used as the courts building for the next thirty-five years. In April,
1998, the Adams County Justice Center was opened at 1100 Judicial Center
Drive in Brighton, Colorado. At the time of its construction, the Adams County Hall of Justice served a county with a population of approximately 120,000 people. By the time that the Hall of Justice was vacated and the courts for the Seventeenth Judicial District were moved to the Adams County Justice Center, the population for Adams County had grown to more that 316,000 people. The current estimated population of Adams County is 399,426 people. On November 15, 2001, the former City of Broomfield became the City and County of Broomfield. When legislation was adopted in anticipation of the creation of Colorado's newest county, the Seventeenth Judicial |
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| District was expanded to include two counties, Adams County and the City and County of Broomfield. A new courthouse was built at 17 DesCombes Drive in Broomfield, Colorado to house the County Court and one District Court division for the Seventeenth Judicial District. |
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The Seventeenth Judicial District now serves more than 442,000 residents. The court has grown to ten district court divisions, seven county court divisions and six magistrate divisions sitting in two locations. Court dockets have increased to reflect the burgeoning population growth of the Seventeenth Judicial District. Despite this rapid growth, the Seventeenth Judicial District retains a reputation for developing innovative approaches to the fair and expeditious resolution of litigation. The district has demonstrated leadership in the development of new programs that are responsive to the needs of the community such as the simplified civil litigation program, the truancy reduction project, paperless court, and National Child Victims Model Court designation. The Seventeenth Judicial |
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| District has remained on the cutting edge of providing more effective, community-based
services which enhance public safety, early resolution of disputes and a
just resolution of litigation for its entire history. The district
is committed to continuing this
leadership into the future. The judicial officers, administrators and staff of the Seventeenth Judicial District continue to dedicate themselves to the fair, just and efficient administration of justice for the residents of Adams and Broomfield Counties. They look forward to meeting the future demands of a dynamic, growing metropolitan community. |
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