Sept. 22, 2026, Grand Junction, Colo. - Three judges from the Colorado Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in two court cases before an audience of high school students at Grand Junction High School as part of the Colorado Judicial Department’s Courts in the Community outreach program. Courts in the Community is an educational program that gives high school students a firsthand look at how the Colorado judicial system operates and how disputes are resolved in our democratic society.  

When: Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, 10 a.m. to noon  

Where: Grand Junction High School, 1400 N 5th St., Grand Junction, Colo.

Who: Members of the media are invited to attend and required to RSVP to Susan Postema Scheeres at susan.postemascheeres@judicial.state.co.us; she will be attending the event and can answer questions about who is available to be photographed or interviewed.

All requests to photograph oral arguments must be submitted through an expanded media coverage request (EMC) no later than 24 hours before the event, per Colorado Supreme Court Rule 3. The EMC can be found on our website: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/media/request-expanded-media-coverage?topic=76&wrapped=true. No videography is allowed.

Background:  

• The Colorado Supreme Court and Court of Appeals started the program on Law Day (May 1) in 1986.  
• In the 40 years since, the program has given an estimated 50,000 students and teachers from every Colorado judicial district a firsthand look at how the state’s judicial system operates and how disputes are resolved in our democratic society.
• These are not mock proceedings. The court will hear arguments in actual cases from which it will issue opinions.  
• The 22 judges of the Colorado Court of Appeals sit in divisions of three judges to hear cases. A panel of three Colorado Court of Appeals judges will hear oral arguments at Courts in the Community: Judge Jerry Jones, Judge Karl Schock and Judge Grant Sullivan.  
• Using curriculum designed for this educational outreach program, Grand Junction High School teachers have been preparing their students to hear the oral arguments. The curriculum provides background information about the judicial system and information about the cases that will be presented.  
• Two cases will be heard at Grand Junction High School:
  • 25CA2144 Friends of Animals v. Colorado Parks and Wildlife
    This case arises from a 2023 Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulation that restricts certain recreational activities in state wildlife areas when those activities are not connected with hunting and fishing. Three nonprofit groups brought this suit alleging that (1) the regulation is arbitrary and capricious because it unfairly favors hunting and fishing over other forms of wildlife-related recreation, and (2) Colorado Parks and Wildlife failed to comply with the rule-making procedures of the Colorado Administrative Procedures Act by not considering public comments submitted though the EngageCPW website.
  • 24CA2231 People of the State of Colorado v. Brandon Burns
    In this criminal case, the prosecution charged the defendant with several crimes based on the police pulling Burns over, searching his car, and finding drugs and a gun. On appeal, Burns contends that the trial court should have suppressed the drug evidence because the police search violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment. Specifically, Burns asserts that the search was not justified by an exception to the warrant requirement and was therefore unlawful.

Students will have the opportunity to ask the attorneys and then the judges questions after oral arguments.

For more information about the program, visit our website: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/community-and-educational-resources/courts-community

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