Search

Developmental disability is an umbrella term referring to disabilities present before an individual reaches 22 years of age. Examples of developmental disabilities are cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, hearing loss, Down syndrome, mental retardation, spinal injury or brain injury. Cognitive disabilities refer to any disability affecting mental processes. Examples include mental retardation, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, Alzheimer's disease, aphasia, brain injury, language delay, and learning disabilities. Remember that many individuals with developmental and cognitive disabilities may not have limited intellectual functioning. Those that do may require accommodation. Depending on the needs of the individual and the nature of the disability, accommodation may include: having the court and witnesses talk slowly or write things down; when necessary, repeating information using different wording or a different communication approach, allowing time for information to be fully understood; presenting information in a clear, concise, concrete and simple manner; when necessary, taking periodic breaks; presenting tasks in a step-by-step manner, letting the individual perform each step after explanation; scheduling court proceedings at a different time to meet the medical needs of the individual; providing a coach or support person at the proceeding; or allowing videotaped testimony or the use of video conferencing technology in lieu of a personal appearance.

A person with a psychiatric disability is someone with a mental illness which significantly interferes with that person’s performance of major life activities, such as learning, thinking, communicating, and sleeping, among others. The most common forms of mental illnesses resulting in psychiatric disabilities are anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and schizophrenia. Anxiety disorders are the most common group of mental illnesses and include panic disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder characterized by severe fear or anxiety associated with   particular objects and situations. Depressive Disorders would include major depression, manic-depressive illness and seasonal affective disorder characterized by disturbances or changes in moods. Schizophrenia is a highly complex illness characterized by thoughts that seem fragmented and difficulty processing information.

Depending on the needs of the individual and the nature of the disability, accommodation may include: scheduling court proceedings at certain time to coincide with medication requirements or effects; presenting information in a different manner to be better processed by the individual such as providing instructions in a written or recorded format; changing procedures as they relate to the interaction with witnesses and court staff in the courtroom; eliminating distractions; speaking slowly and distinctly; or allowing videotaped testimony or the use of video conferencing technology in lieu of a personal appearance.

Auxiliary aids and services necessary for effective communication or to enable participation in services, other than devices of a personal nature, are to be provided at no cost to the person with the disability. The court or probation department is responsible for providing and paying the incurred costs, with the exception of the appointment of an interpreter for a deaf or hard of hearing person provided by the Department of Human Services pursuant to section 13-90-204(1), C.R.S.

You can be temporarily excused from jury service if you are breastfeeding a child.  You must provide a medical statement.  The excuse is usually for one year with the option to re-apply for another year if you are still breastfeeding your child.  The statement can be from a medical professional, examples include a doctor, lactation professional, nurse, physician’s assistant and/or other medical professional.  The medical statement must be on official letterhead.  The medical statement needs to list your appearance date and your juror number. 

Yes, but each account must be tied to an organization. And as an attorney, you can have more than one account tied to your bar number and housed in different organizations. However, if you choose to maintain multiple accounts, there are several important caveats to note with cases you initiated through LexisNexis (historical cases) that were imported into the Colorado Courts E-Filing system.

The courts case management system does not tie your bar number to an organization. Therefore, when you have multiple accounts, the system will not know by default which account should be tied to which organization in your historical cases. As a result, until you file a document in these historical cases through one of your accounts, the following limitations will apply in each case:

• Staff within your organizations will not have access to the case’s suppressed and protected documents.
• Staff within your office will not have access to a suppressed case or a probate case.
• Opposing counsel will not be able to E-Serve you in the case.  

After you or your staff files into these historical cases using one of your accounts, the system will then be able to tie the historical cases to the proper organization. This will restore your staff's access to protected and suppressed documents and to suppressed cases and probate cases, as well as opposing counsel’s ability to E-Serve you. 

In addition, your email address will be your user ID. Your email address must be unique for each account. Thus, if you wish to maintain different accounts, you must use a different email address for each.

Any qualified person with a disability who has business in a state court, including attorneys, litigants, defendants, probationers, witnesses, potential jurors, prospective employees and public observers of court services and programs may request reasonable accommodation by contacting the local ADA Coordinator or Jury Commissioner.