CORA/CCJRA Requests

The Office of the District Attorney for the 17th Judicial District is committed to providing public information in an accurate and timely manner. Requests for public records made to our office will be handled as efficiently and expeditiously as possible within the provision of the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) C.R.S. 24-72-200.1 et seq. and the Criminal Justice Records Act (CJRA), C.R.S. 24-72-301 et seq.

Please review this policy carefully to ensure you are able to receive your requested records.

All requests under CJRA or CORA must be in writing utilizing available website form or hard copy attached emailed to OpenRecords@da17.state.co.us. Requests from the media should be directed to the Public Information Officer at da17media@da17.state.co.us. All requests under CJRA or CORA must be in writing. Requests from the media should be directed to the Public Information Officer. AS OF OCTOBER 1,2021, ALL REQUESTS FOR ARREST AFFIDAVITS MUST BE MADE TO THE COURT CLERK'S OFFICE. See Paragraph 4 at https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/District/Custom.cfm?District_ID=17&Page_ID=581.

All requests must be provided to ensure our offices ability to accurate identify, review, and provide the requested records. Records requests will not be accepted over the phone or via social media. The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) does not apply to non-federal agencies like our office. Any request identified as a FOIA request will be treated as a CORA or CJIRA request and will follow the requirements of those applicable laws.

The office will attempt to fulfill open records requests within three business days if requested as required under 24-72-203(3)(a)/(b) if possible. If the request cannot be filled within three business days, the requestor will receive notice that additional time, up to seven working days, will be necessary. These times will begin the next business day after the request is received. Requests received after 5:00pm or any day that the office is officially closed will be considered as received on the next business day.

Requests for criminal justice records must fit the two categories of records (1) Records of official action such as “an arrest; indictment; charging by information; disposition; pretrial or post-trial release from custody…. ” or (2) Records made available by the discretion of the official custodian.

Requests for public records must identify the specific “writings made, maintained, or kept by our office for the use in the exercise of functions required or authorized by law or administrative rule or involving the receipt or expenditure of public funds.” C.R.S. 24-72-202(6)(a)(I).

The District Attorney’s Office is not required to create reports or compilations of computerized data or to modify existing records in order to create a new record in response to a request. If data is compiled or reports created as part of a request, the District Attorney’s office will charge a reasonable fee based on the hourly wage of the employee who collects and prepares the information.

If significant redaction of information is required to complete a request, the District Attorney’s Office will charge a reasonable fee based on the hourly wage of the employee who collects and prepares the information.

By policy and to protect the private individuals of innocent individuals who may be a witness or a victim of a crime may be protected by a protective order or redacted for safety and prevention of identity theft. Specific items that will be redacted from public records are:

• A witness, bystander, interviewee, or family member’s name, photo, phone number, home address (unless location of the incident) or personal email address
• A victim’s name and any other information that would identify any victim especially in sexual assault cases (24-72-304(4)(a)) or child victim (24-72-304(4.5)(a)
• Passwords
• Key identifications numbers such as social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, student numbers, or other ID-specific numbers
• Birthdate
• Bank or other financial account information
• Tax ID numbers
• Signatures
• Medical Records or information
• NCIC/CCIC criminal history records due to restriction by CJIS
• DMV records due to restriction by CO-DOR Graphic material depicting decedents or victims

Information that is part of a pending investigation or upcoming prosecution that may impact the fairness of a defendant’s trial will not be released.  This includes photos, documents, or other evidentiary materials that may ultimately be entered into the record during a trial.  Evidence entered into the record for a closed case is maintained by the Court and can be requested through their file.  (https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/District/Local_Resources.cfm?District_ID=17).

Fees:

The requesting party will be notified if the requested documents are not available, if the records are not covered by CORA or if they cannot be released under CJRA.

The office will attempt to fulfill the request as economically as possible. An initial deposit of $33.50 will be required for a request but will be refunded in whole if the request only requires the production of 25 pages to be provided via email or FTP transfer or less than 1 hour of retrieval time to locate the records. C.R.S. 24-72-205(6)

Fees for any number of printed copies will be $0.25 per page.  

Fees for electronic copies to be burned on a CD, DVD, external drive, or uploaded to specialized website will be $15.00 each.  

Research and retrieval fees: Up to $33.50 per hour after the first hour

Research and retrieval time may include but is not limited to: communication(s) to clarify a broad request, actual costs involved in gathering documents, costs associated with specialized IT support and staff time required to perform research, locate, retrieve and review records and create or run records in electronic or digital format. The nature of the request dictates the potential fees and costs incurred.

If fulfilling a request is likely to incur fees in excess of $33.50, the office will attempt to provide the requesting party with an estimate of the fees likely to be generated in fulfilling the request. The office will require payment of estimated fees (if beyond the deposit of $33.50) paid in full via cash or check prior to any staff time being expended on responding to the full request.  Requesting parties will be responsible for any actual costs incurred in excess of the deposit and will be reimbursed for any estimated costs that are not actually incurred.

Abandoned Requests:

If the office attempts to contact a requestor to clarify a request or discuss the scope of a request and the requestor does not respond within 5 business days, the Agency will close the request and require the requestor to submit a new records request.  Failure to request inspection or pick up requested records after 10 business days of being informed of the records availability, will result in the records being destroyed and the request closed.

Additional Information:

No one at the 17th Judicial DA’s office is able to provide legal advice to the general public especially as it relates to CORA or CJIRA.  The office also does not have the authority to require other entities to provide records and will not determine if another public entity has improperly denied a records request.  If records are held by other agencies or the judicial department, the DA’s office is not required to request them for the requestor.  The requestor is responsible for requesting directly from that separate entity and to follow that entity’s records policy.
 

[1] Requests by Defendants or Defense Attorneys are governed by the Rule 16 Discovery process and should be made by going to http://adamsbroomfieldda.org/?page_id=408.  Defense Counsel must have filed an entry of appearance in the criminal case.

[2] Records regarding “post-trial information such as post-trial release from custody, judicial determination of mental or physical condition; decision to grant, order, or terminate probation, parole, or participation in correctional or rehabilitative programs; and any decision to formally discipline, reclassify, or relocate any person under criminal sentence” under 24-72-302(7) are not in the custody or control of the DA’s office.  Please request those records from the law enforcement entity, the Department of Corrections, or the Court itself (https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/District/Local_Resources.cfm?District_ID=17).