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There is no set time line for an appeal. In most cases, an appeal filed with the Colorado Court of Appeals will take approximately five to seven months. Although the deadlines may vary, the general deadlines for filing an appeal with Court of Appeals are as follows:
• Within 45 days of the date the final order is entered by the trial court - the appeal process must be initiated within 45 days of the final order from the trial court. This is done by filing a “Notice of Appeal.”
• Within 10 days of filing the Notice of Appeal - the individual filing the appeal (called “the appellant”) must file a listing of the documents and exhibits that he or she wants the appellate court to review in a document called “the Designation of Record on Appeal.”
• Within 90 days of filing the Notice of Appeal – the trial court must transmit the documents listed in the Designation of Record on Appeal
• Within 40 days of the filing of the Record on Appeal – the appellant must file his or her Opening Brief, which contains the legal arguments raised in the appeal and cites to the portions of the trial court’s record where the alleged error(s) were made
• Within 30 days after the appellant files the Opening Brief – the other party (called the “appellee”) must file his or her Answer Brief. The Answer Brief will address the arguments raised by the appellant in the Opening Brief
• Within 14 days after the filing of the Answer Brief – the appellant may file another legal brief (called the “Reply Brief”) in response to the appellee’s Answer Brief.
The deadlines above may be extended or shortened by the Court. If, for example, the court reporter from the trial court is unable to prepare the transcript of the hearing within the deadline to transmit the Record on Appeal to the Court of Appeals, the appellant may request an extension of time. This will result in all of the case deadlines being pushed back. Also, if one of the parties requests oral argument, the appeal may take longer. And, of course, more complex appeals will generally take longer than appeals raising fewer, less complicated issues.
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