People with business at the Montezuma County and District Courts on Tuesday, July 19, 2016, will be asked to participate in a program designed to help ensure the Colorado Judicial Branch is providing the best service possible to the public.
From 8:30 a.m. to noon, court employees at 601 N. Mildred Road in Cortez, and from 12:30-3:30 p.m., court employees at 109 W. Main St. in Cortez will ask people exiting the building to fill out brief, anonymous survey forms asking about their experiences as jurors, parties to a case or as recipients of other judicial services. Survey forms will be available in English and Spanish.
Attorneys, law enforcement officers and anyone else who does business with the courts is encouraged to participate.
Similar surveys have been conducted in the 22nd Judicial District (Dolores and Montezuma counties), most recently in 2013. Since 2007, surveys have been conducted at least once in each of Colorado’s 22 judicial districts.
The surveys measure public opinion about access to and fairness of the courts. Questions include whether people felt safe in the building, whether they could easily understand the forms they needed, and whether they felt their case was handled in a fair manner. Participants also are asked whether they felt the judicial officer listened to them and had all the necessary information before making a decision, and whether they felt they were treated with courtesy and given clear information about the next step in their case.
During fiscal year 2015, 1,206 cases were filed in District Court in the 22nd Judicial District, including 1,116 in Montezuma County; and 3,061 cases were filed in County Court in the district, including 2,834 in Montezuma County.