The Colorado Supreme Court issued one opinion from May 1-7. As of May 7, the court issued 21 opinions in 2023 — the same number of opinions as this point a year ago. The one opinion is below:
- Front Range Feedlots v. Rein et al., where the court “concluded: (1) under the plain language of the applicable statutes, the State Engineer had the authority to issue the Order to Comply; (2) the State Engineer had the authority to enforce the terms and conditions of the 2020 SWSP after the expiration of that SWSP and Front Range’s withdrawal of its related water court application; (3) the State Engineer properly attached the 2020 SWSP terms and conditions to Front Range, rather than to the water rights at issue; (4) the State Engineer had jurisdiction to require the replacement of depletions from pre-application pumping; and (5) the water court properly exercised its discretion in ordering Front Range to acquire additional replacement sources.”
From May 1-7, state supreme courts issued 156 opinions nationally. The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued the most with 22. State supreme courts in Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, and South Dakota issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 91 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 65.
The Colorado Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Brian Boatright. The court issued 61 opinions in 2022 and 59 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 2,357 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 1,315 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 1,042. Colorado is a Democratic trifecta, meaning Democrats control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
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