IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
COURT OPERATIONS DURING DISTRICT COURT GENERAL ORDER
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 2022-1
This order supersedes General Order 2021-10.
WHEREAS, this Court continues to evaluate its response to the COVID-19 pandemic
while effectively administering justice;
WHEREAS, with the emergence of the Omicron variant, key indicators from the
Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, including positivity rates, the
number of hospitalizations, and cumulative incidences of COVID-19 per 100,000 people, are
increasing alarmingly throughout the District of Colorado. Omicron is notable for its
capacity to spread more rapidly than previous strains of COVID-19; some studies have found
it to be 2 to 4 times more transmissible than the other variants of the virus. These indicators
make it advisable to restrict certain court operations to help slow the spread of the virus;
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend
that all people living in areas of substantial or high transmission of COVID-19 wear masks
indoors in public settings, regardless of vaccination status, to further reduce the spread of the
virus; 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, in the past 10 days, been diagnosed with or are currently
experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, including a fever, cough, shortness
of breath, or loss of sense of taste or smell;
2. Unvaccinated persons who have had close contact in the last 14 days with any
person 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, 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 shall continue to
be required to wear a mask or face covering that covers the wearer’s nose and mouth when
entering the courthouses or probation office and at all times within the courthouses and probation
offices, including common areas, elevators, hallways, stairwells, courtrooms, witness waiting
rooms, and bathrooms. 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, at his or her discretion, may permit witnesses to
remove their masks for purpose of identification during a hearing or trial, or for allocution at
sentencing, and may permit attorneys to do so for limited purposes. Non-employee entrants should
bring their own masks; however, masks will be provided to 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, until further order, court employees and interns shall continue to wear
masks upon entry to the courthouses, probation offices, and in common areas, including elevators,
hallways, stairwells, courtrooms, and bathrooms. Masks may be removed in an employee’s work
area if an employee works in a private office or if the employee’s supervisor
has concluded that the employee’s office space has sufficient distance from other occupied work
areas. It is further
ORDERED that all civil and criminal jury trials scheduled to commence now through
February 11, 2022, before any district or magistrate judge in any courthouse in the District
of Colorado are CONTINUED subject to further order of the presiding judicial officer.
Trials to court may continue at the discretion of the presiding judicial officer. 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
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), 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. Dial-in information will
be posted on the case docket and/or the presiding judicial officer’s calendar. 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
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further
ORDERED that all members of a grand jury, as well as 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. It is further
ORDERED that in-person Central Violations Bureau calendars may continue 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 20th day of January, 2022.
BY THE COURT
PHILIP A. BRIMMER
Chief United States District Judge
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