Denver County Court

Civil Appeals

APPEALS IN CIVIL, SMALL CLAIMS, AND PROTECTION ORDER CASES

CAUTION: This information is only intended to give you a general idea of the appeal process. It does not cover everything you may need to know about appeals. You may wish to seek the advice of an attorney.

An appeal is a request to a higher court to review a decision made by a lower court. Denver County Court cases are appealed to the Denver District Court.

It is important to understand that an appeal is NOT a new trial. Denver District Court’s job is to review a record of what happened in Denver County Court to see if certain kinds of legal errors were made in the case.

To win an appeal, the person appealing must convince the District Court that the County Court was wrong about something that affected the result of the trial. The law is that a person is entitled to a fair trial, not a perfect trial. Even if mistakes were made during the trial, unless there are significant errors, they may not be enough for the District Court to reverse the County Court decision. The party appealing must show that any errors prevented them from getting a fair trial.

If you win an appeal it means the District Court is reversing or modifying the decision of the County Court; and will send the case back to County Court for another trial or hearing.

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