IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
COURT OPERATIONS DURING DISTRICT COURT GENERAL ORDER
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 2021-6
This order supersedes General Orders 2021-5, 2021-3, and 2020-10.
WHEREAS, on May 13, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”)
issued new recommendations for fully vaccinated persons;
WHEREAS, the CDC recommends that fully vaccinated persons do not need to wear a
mask or to socially distance themselves from others, but that unvaccinated persons should
continue to wear masks and to socially distance themselves for their own protection and for the
protection of other unvaccinated persons;
WHEREAS, this Court continues to evaluate its response to the COVID-19 pandemic
while effectively administering justice; it is hereby
ORDERED that the following persons shall not enter any courthouses or U.S. Probation
Offices of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado:
1. Persons who have recently been diagnosed with or are currently experiencing
any symptoms of COVID-19, including a fever, cough, shortness of breath, or
loss of sense of smell;
2. Unvaccinated persons who have had close contact in the last 14 days with any
person who has been diagnosed within the last month with COVID-19; and
3. Persons who have been asked to self-quarantine by any doctor, hospital, or
health agency.
What to do if you are denied access to a District of Colorado Courthouse or Courtroom:
1. If you are represented by an attorney, please contact your attorney;
2. If you are an attorney and you are scheduled to appear in court before a judge,
please contact the chambers of the presiding judge;
3. If you are scheduled to meet with a Pretrial Services Officer or a Probation
Officer, please contact the Probation Office at (303) 844-5424;
4. If you are a juror or prospective juror, please contact the Jury Department at
(303) 844-3924; and
5. For other District Court matters, please contact the Clerk’s Office of the U.S.
District Court at (303) 844-3433. It is further
ORDERED that, beginning June 8, 2021 and continuing until further order, non-
employee entrants to the courthouses and U.S. Probation Offices of the United States District
Court for the District of Colorado who are fully vaccinated, which is defined as 14 days after the
second dose in a two-dose series or 14 days after receiving a single-dose vaccine, shall not be
required to wear a mask or to socially distance themselves (unless they are jurors involved in the
jury selections process, in which case the Jury Trial Protocols apply to them). Unvaccinated
persons are required to wear a mask or face covering that covers the user’s nose and mouth when
entering the courthouses and at all times within the courthouses, including common areas,
elevators, hallways, stairwells, courtrooms, witness waiting rooms, and bathrooms.
Unvaccinated non-employee entrants are required to maintain three feet of distance between
themselves and other people within the courthouses, including in the locations noted above.
Non-employee entrants include attorneys and their support personnel, jurors, witnesses, case
agents, spectators or family members for trials or hearings, members of the press, persons being
supervised by the U.S. Probation Office, litigants, contractors, vendors, and delivery persons.
The presiding judicial officer may permit, at his or her discretion, unvaccinated witnesses to
remove their masks for purpose of identification during a hearing or trial and may permit
unvaccinated attorneys to do so for limited purposes. Unvaccinated non-employee entrants
should bring their own masks; however, masks will be provided to unvaccinated jurors,
witnesses, litigants, persons being supervised by the U.S. Probation Office, or family members
and spectators if they do not have a mask. The U.S. Marshals and court security officers are
authorized to enforce these requirements. It is further
ORDERED that, beginning June 8, 2021 and continuing until further order, court
employees and interns who are fully vaccinated are not required to wear masks or to socially
distance themselves while in the courthouse. Court employees and interns who are not fully
vaccinated shall wear masks upon entry to the courthouses and in common areas, including
elevators, hallways, stairwells, courtrooms, and bathrooms. Such employees and interns are
required to maintain three feet of distance between themselves and other people within the
courthouses. Masks may be removed in an unvaccinated employee’s work area if such employee
works in a private office or if his or her supervisor has concluded that the unvaccinated
employee’s office space has sufficient distance from other occupied work areas. It is further
ORDERED that, effective immediately, all civil and criminal trials scheduled to
commence in Denver in June 2021 remain subject to the pilot trial designations and will also be
subject to the revised Jury Trial Protocols. Beginning with trials set in July 2021, the pilot trial
program will end, and civil and criminal trials will proceed at the discretion of the assigned
judicial officer, subject to the revised Jury Trial Protocols. It is further
ORDERED that no civil or criminal trial requiring a jury of 10 or more jurors (including
alternate jurors) shall be held in the Wayne Aspinall Courthouse or the courtroom in Colorado
Springs, subject to the orders of the presiding judicial officer in each case. Parties may request
that the presiding judge determine whether a non-jury trial or trial to a jury of less than 10 may
safely proceed in the Courthouse. If so, such trials may proceed in accordance with social
distancing and other appropriate measures to ensure the safety of all participants. It is further
ORDERED that initial appearances on indictments, complaints, and supervised release
petitions, as well as detention hearings and preliminary hearings, will take place in person unless
pandemic-related lockdowns or similar circumstances prevent a defendant from being able to
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appear in person. If an unvaccinated defendant requests to appear remotely for one of the above-
mentioned hearings under the CARES Act, the assigned judicial officer may, at his or her
discretion, allow that defendant to appear remotely. Family members of defendants, victims (as
provided in 18 U.S.C. § 3771 (2018)), media, and members of the public may attend in person
hearings, consistent with the mask and social distance requirements of this order. Such persons
may attend video teleconference hearings through telephonic access by contacting the Clerk’s
Office (303-844-3433) in advance of the hearing to obtain the dial-in information. All persons
participating in a court proceeding remotely by telephone are prohibited, under penalty of
contempt, from recording or broadcasting the proceeding in any manner. All other hearings will
take place in person or remotely at the discretion of the judicial officer as allowed, in the case of
criminal hearings, by the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and/or the CARES Act. It is
further
ORDERED that fully vaccinated members of a grand jury, as well as fully vaccinated
attorneys, witnesses, grand jury coordinators, court reporters, and others appearing before or
interacting with the grand jurors in the courthouses are not required to wear masks or to socially
distance. Unvaccinated grand jurors, attorneys, witnesses, grand jury coordinators, court
reporters, and others appearing before or interacting with the grand jurors in the courthouses are
required to wear masks and to maintain three feet of social distance. It is further
ORDERED that in-person Central Violations Bureau calendars may resume across
the district in a manner consistent with the mask and social distance requirements of this
order. It is further
ORDERED that naturalization ceremonies will proceed on a limited basis that allows for
social distancing. It is further
ORDERED that public and bar-related functions may be scheduled in person in any
courthouse facility in the District of Colorado subject to the mask and social distance
requirements noted above.
The Court’s judicial officers, at their discretion, may use more protective rules regarding
mask wearing and social distancing in their courtrooms.
Dated at Denver, Colorado this 7th day of June, 2021.
BY THE COURT
PHILIP A. BRIMMER
Chief United States District Judge
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