The United States District Court
District of Colorado

After more than 19 years of service, Magistrate Judge Michael J. Watanabe retired from the Court on June 30, 2018. The Court has selected Mr. N. Reid Neureiter to fill Magistrate Judge Watanabe's vacancy; Mr. Neureiter is currently undergoing the necessary background check for his appointment. In the interim, counsel and parties may continue to use the same chambers telephone number (303-844-2403) and chambers email account (watanabe_chambers@cod.uscourts.gov) to communicate regarding cases previously assigned to Magistrate Judge Watanabe.

 

The Rocky Mountains’ first federal pro se clinic staffed and operated by the Colorado Bar Association, will formally open in Denver on June 29, 2018. With funding and critical support from the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, the Federal Pro Se Clinic will improve access to justice in our federal courts, benefiting litigants as well as the court.  Read more HERE.

 

After more than 17 years of service, Magistrate Judge Craig B. Shaffer retired from the Court on May 31, 2018. The Court has selected Mr. S. Kato Crews to fill Magistrate Judge Shaffer's vacancy; Mr. Crews is currently undergoing the necessary background check for his appointment. In the interim, Magistrate Judges Rankin and Carman, both from the District of Wyoming, will continue to handle the cases previously assigned to Magistrate Judge Shaffer. Counsel and parties may continue to use the same chambers telephone number (303-844-2117) and chambers email account (shaffer_chambers@cod.uscourts.gov) to communicate regarding these cases.

 

The United States District Court for the District of Colorado is pleased to announce the selection of S. Kato Crews and N. Reid Neureiter as United States Magistrate Judges. Both selectees have extensive litigation experience; Mr. Crews is currently a partner at Hoffman Crews Nies Waggener & Foster LLP, and Mr. Neureiter currently serves Of Counsel with Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLP. Mr. Crews will fill the vacancy created by Magistrate Judge Shaffer's upcoming retirement at the end of May, and Mr. Neureiter will fill the vacancy created by Magistrate Judge Watanabe's retirement at the end of June.

Each selectee's appointment is subject to a required background investigation. To assist the Court with the selection process, the Court appointed a nine member Magistrate Judge Selection Panel that reviewed submissions received from numerous applicants. From this applicant pool, the Selection Panel made its recommendations to the Court of the candidates it determined were most qualified to serve. Each of the candidates was interviewed by the judges of the court before it made its final selections. The Court thanks the members of the Selection Panel for their service.

 

Under D.C.COLO.LAttyR 15 - CIVIL PRO BONO REPRESENTATION, the U.S. District Court's Standing Committee on Pro Se Litigation is responsible for implementing the Civil Pro Bono Panel program. As part of its mission, the Standing Committee reports annually to the court on the status of the program. D.C.COLO.LAttyR 15(b)(2). The 2017 Annual Report can be viewed HERE.

 

The Honorable Marcia S. Krieger, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of Colorado, will be presenting on the state of the United States District Court on Thursday, February 1, 2018 from 8-30-9:30. The presentation will be held in the Jury Assembly Room of the Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse. The presentation will include information regarding case trends and statistics as well as recent and future planned initiatives of the Court. Members of the media are welcome to attend. The use of cameras or any kind of recording device is prohibited within the courthouse. The presentation is being hosted by the Faculty of Federal Advocates: http://www.facultyfederaladvocates.org/current-events/.

 

To provide improved federal court access for the residents of Southeastern Colorado, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado is pleased to announce the adoption of a Pilot Program to relocate a full-time magistrate judge to the Court’s Colorado Springs facility located at 212 N. Wahsatch Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903. The Court is concluding renovations to this facility and it is anticipated that Magistrate Judge Kathleen M. Tafoya will relocate to the Colorado Springs courthouse the week of February 5, 2018. Read more HERE.

 

The District of Colorado Criminal Justice Act Standing Committee is accepting applications for the felony and misdemeanor Panels of attorneys. Eligibility requirements are set out in the District of Colorado Criminal Justice Act Plan Section VI, Part E.

Applications must be received no later than March 9, 2018. This is a hard deadline. No exceptions will be made. The applications can be found at www.COCJA.org.

 

The U.S. District Court provides the following notice and opportunity for public comment about the December 6, 2017 approval of a pilot program. The pilot program directs the creation, location, and operation of a clinic to assist pro se litigants in the Alfred A. Arraj United States Courthouse beginning on or after March 1, 2018.

Under this program, the Colorado Bar Association (CBA) will partner with the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (Court) to pilot a pro se assistance project consisting primarily of operation of a pro se clinic. With a grant from the Court, the CBA will hire an experienced staff attorney to provide consultations, brief advice about drafting pleadings, discovery, answers to discovery, motions and oppositions to motions for non-prisoner pro se litigants at the Court. This staff attorney will work with the CBA’s Internet Technology Department to create and maintain a website with legal information for pro se litigants with U.S. District Court cases. As CBA staff, the attorney will use resources of the CBA, including supervision, malpractice insurance, a benefits package, computer hardware and connectivity, and a cloud-based case management system and support. An advisory committee, consisting of representatives of the Colorado Lawyers Committee, lawyers experienced in federal court cases, and a court representative will provide technical consultation in federal law and procedure.

The Court will initially fund this program using the Court's attorney admission fees, and thereafter, by a $50 biennial assessment collected from attorneys. Collection of the new fee will commence in 2018.

A thirty-day comment period will commence with the date of the Public Notice issued December 13, 2017, with comments due no later than the close of business hours of the office of the clerk [5:00 p.m. Mountain Time] on Friday, January 12, 2018. Comments should be submitted by electronic mail to the following address: LocalRule_Comments@cod.uscourts.gov; or by U.S. mail to: Legal Officer, U.S. District Court, Alfred A. Arraj U.S. Courthouse, 901 19th Street, Denver, CO 80294.

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Guest Panelists are: Colorado Solicitor General Fred Yarger, Bob Fishman of Ridley, McGreevy & Winocur, PC, Andy Nathan, founder of Nathan Dumm & Mayer, PC. Thursday, August 9, 2018, 12:00 noon - 1:15 p.m. Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse, Jury Assembly Room, 901 19th Street, Downtown Denver (2 General CLE Credits Pending). Visit HERE for more details and to register.

 

The District Court, By The Numbers - a Presentation by United States Magistrate Judge, The Honorable Michael E. Hegarty - Thursday, July 26, 2018, 12:00 noon - 1:15 p.m. Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse, Jury Assembly Room, 901 19th Street, Downtown Denver (2 General CLE Credits Pending).

 

Retirement Reception for The Honorable Michael J. Watanabe & The Honorable Craig B. Shaffer - Thursday, June 21, 2018, 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. The Hotel Monaco (1717 Champa St, Denver). This is an opportunity to thank Judge Watanabe and Judge Shaffer for their service on the bench. An RSVP is required: click here. 

Practicing as a New Attorney in Federal Court: - What You need to Know - A free Continuing Legal Education opportunity and introduction to practicing in the Federal Courts. Thursday, July 19, 2018, 12:30 - 4:45 p.m., Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse, Jury Assembly Room, 901 19th Street, Downtown Denver. General and Ethics CLE credit pending.