Seventh Judicial District
State of Colorado
The Seventh Judicial District is made up of six (6) counties in west-central Colorado. The counties of the district include: Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray and San Miguel. There are combined court clerk’s offices (district and county) in the county seat of each of these counties and an associate county court for Montrose County located in Nucla in the western part of Montrose County. The geographical area of the district is approximately 10,000 square miles of mostly high mountain valleys. This area is about the same size as the State of Vermont Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware combined. The distance between Lake City in the eastern part of the district and Nucla in the west is approximately 200 miles one-way. The towns of Gunnison (Gunnison County) and Telluride (San Miguel County) are at elevations of over 7700 feet. The population of the district is approximately 100,000. The largest towns are Delta, Gunnison and Montrose. Delta County has a Department of Corrections facility just outside the City of Delta. Gunnison is home to Western State College. Gunnison County (Crested Butte Ski Area) and San Miguel County (Telluride Ski Area) boast two of the largest ski resorts in western Colorado. Montrose is in the center of the district, and region, and is the location of many state and federal government offices. It is also a center of retail business for the region with large retailers like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Office Depot, Target (Summer 2008), JC Penney (Fall 2007) and large chain restaurants like Chili’s, Applebee’s, Rib City, Genghis Mongolian Grill and Olive Garden (Summer 2008), all within the City of Montrose. Montrose County also has the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. This site is a large tourist attraction thus promoting retail and service related business growth in the area. Ouray and Hinsdale Counties are within historic districts and also have many recreational sites popular with tourist and sportsman alike. Tourism/recreation, agri-business, retail and government are the main employers of the area. Some new light industry is locating to the area with employment and population numbers continuing to rise.
The 7th Judicial District has Four (4) district judges and seven (7) county judges. The district also has a .50 FTE Magistrate assigned. The current district judges are located in Delta, Gunnison and Montrose. The average traveling distance for a district judge is 74 miles one way to the other court locations from their home office. Besides the eleven judges, the district has 54 full or part-time employees in the clerk’s offices or in administrative positions in support of court operations. The probation department has 25 employees in four (4) locations in the district. The district’s payroll and operating budget is approximately $3.5 million.
The 7th Judicial District filed approximately 11,700 county court cases and 3690 district court cases in FY 2006.
Revised 01.2007