By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics
Noting that trial courts across the state are routinely denying tenants the ability to have a jury hear their eviction cases, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that certain types of disputes do qualify for a jury trial after all.
By 4-2, the Supreme Court’s majority acknowledged the concern that county courts, where evictions largely are heard, could become overwhelmed if even a fraction of tenants demand jury trials. But Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr. explained numerous other states honor the right to a jury trial and several factors work to limit the actual frequency of eviction trials.
“And of those cases that do proceed to trial, many are ineligible for a jury trial,” Samour wrote in the Oct. 21 opinion, given that a jury would only resolve factual disputes. For example, if the grounds for eviction are nonpayment of rent and the tenant did not, in fact, pay rent, a jury trial would be unwarranted.