The

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

consists of several levels, including constitutional, statutory, regulatory, local, and case law. The '' Colorado Revised Statutes'' form the general statutory law.

Sources

The

Constitution of Colorado The Constitution of the State of Colorado is the foundation of the laws and government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The Colorado State Constitution was drafted on March 14, 1876; approved by Colorado voters on July 1, 1876; and took effect u ...

is the foremost source of state law. Legislation is enacted by the

Colorado General Assembly The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in ...

, published in the '' Session Laws of Colorado'', and codified in the '' Colorado Revised Statutes''. State agencies promulgate regulations in the '' Colorado Register'', which are in turn codified in the '' Code of Colorado Regulations''. Colorado's legal system is based on common law, which is interpreted by case law through the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, which are published in the ''Colorado Reporter'' and ''

Pacific Reporter The ''Pacific Reporter'', ''Pacific Reporter Second'', and ''Pacific Reporter Third'' () are United States regional law report, case law reporters. It is part of the National Reporter System created by John B. West for West Publishing Company, whi ...

''. Counties and municipalities may also promulgate local ordinances. In addition, there are also several sources of persuasive authority, which are not binding authority but are useful to lawyers and judges insofar as they help to clarify the current state of the law.

Constitution

The foremost source of state law is the

, which like other state constitutions derives its power and legitimacy from the sovereignty of the people. The Colorado Constitution in turn is subordinate only to the

Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

, which is the supreme law of the land.

Legislation

Pursuant to the state constitution, the

has enacted various laws. The bills and concurrent resolutions passed by a particular General Assembly session, together with those resolutions and memorials designated for printing by the House of Representatives and the Senate, are contained in the '' Session Laws of Colorado''. These in turn have been codified in the '' Colorado Revised Statutes'' (C.R.S.).

Regulations

Pursuant to certain broadly worded statutes, state agencies have promulgated an enormous body of regulations, published in the '' Colorado Register'' and codified in the '' Code of Colorado Regulations'' (CCR), which carry the force of law to the extent they do not conflict with any statutes or the state or federal Constitutions.

Case law

Colorado's legal system is based on a political party

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

. Like all U.S. states except

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, Colorado has a

reception statute A reception statute is a statutory law adopted as a former British colony becomes independent by which the new nation adopts, or receives, the English common law (and in some cases the statute law) before its independence to the extent not explicit ...

providing for the "reception" of

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

. All statutes, regulations, and ordinances are subject to

judicial review Judicial review is a process under which a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. In a judicial review, a court may invalidate laws, acts, or governmental actions that are in ...

. Pursuant to common law tradition, the courts of Colorado have developed a large body of

case law Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is a law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of ...

through the decisions of the

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the court was established in 1876. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices who are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a ...

and the Colorado Court of Appeals. There is no official

reporter A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. The ''Colorado Reporter'' (a Colorado-specific version of the ''

'') is an unofficial reporter for appellate decisions from 1883. Decisions of the Colorado Supreme Court were published in the official '' Colorado Reports'' from 1864 to 1980, and decisions of the Court of Appeals were published in the official '' Colorado Court of Appeals Reports'' from 1891 to 1980.

Local ordinances

Denver Revised Municipal Code title page

Colorado is divided into 64 counties, as well as some 271 active incorporated municipalities, including 196 towns, 73 cities, and two consolidated city and county governments.

Colorado counties The U.S. State of Colorado is divided into 64 counties. Two of these, the City and County of Denver, which serves as the state capital, and the City and County of Broomfield, have consolidated city and county governments. In addition to Denv ...

have the authority to adopt and enforce ordinances and resolutions regarding health, safety, and welfare issues "as otherwise prescribed by law" which are not in conflict with any state statute, as well as the power to adopt ordinances for control or licensing of those matters of purely local concern in a number of policy areas. All such ordinances of a general or permanent nature and those imposing any fine, penalty, or forfeiture must be published.

Colorado municipalities The U.S. State of Colorado has 273 active municipalities, comprising 198 towns, 73 cities, and two consolidated city and county governments. The City and County of Denver, the state capital, is the oldest municipality in Colorado. On Dece ...

have the power to adopt ordinances which are necessary and proper to provide for the safety, preserve the health, promote the prosperity, and improve the morals, order, comfort, and convenience of the municipality and its inhabitants and which are not in conflict with any laws, and have the power to enforce them with fines of up to $2,650.00, imprisonment for up to one year or both. All such ordinances of a general or permanent nature and those imposing any fine, penalty, or forfeiture must be published in a local newspaper, or three local public places otherwise.C.R.S. § 31-16-105

References

* *

External links

Colorado Revised Statutes
from

LexisNexis LexisNexis is an American data analytics company headquartered in New York, New York. Its products are various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper searc ...

Colorado Revised Statutes
from the Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services
Colorado Revised Statutes
from

Public.Resource.Org Public.Resource.Org (PRO) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to publishing and sharing public domain materials in the United States and internationally. It was founded by Carl Malamud and is based in Sebastopol, California. Public. ...

Code of Colorado Regulations
from the Colorado Secretary of State
Session Laws of Colorado
from the Office of Legislative Legal Services
Colorado Session Laws Digital Collection
from the

University of Colorado Law School The University of Colorado Law School is one of the professional graduate schools within the University of Colorado System. It is a public law school, with more than 500 students attending and working toward a Juris Doctor or Master of Studies i ...

Colorado Register
from the Colorado Secretary of State
Supreme Court and Court of Appeals opinions
from the Colorado Bar Association
Supreme Court opinions
from the Colorado State Court Administrator
Court of Appeals opinions
from the Colorado State Court Administrator
Denver Revised Municipal Code
from

Municode Municipal Code Corporation (Municode) was a codification (law), codifier of legal documents for local governments in the United States. The company, founded in 1951 by George Langford was located in Tallahassee, Florida. History George Langford ...

Local ordinance codes
from Public.Resource.Org * Case law: {{Laws of the United States by U.S. state