Opinion ID: 2634706
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Limitations on Municipal Court Jurisdiction

Text: Necessarily, the constitution limits the authority of municipal courts to local and municipal matters so that there is not a conflict between the jurisdiction of state courts and that of municipal courts. Our case law provides examples of the limits of a municipal court's jurisdiction. First, a municipal court can only exercise jurisdiction over matters that are of local or municipal concern. Second, within the sphere of matters of local and municipal concern, a municipal court may only exercise the jurisdiction granted to it in a town charter or ordinances. When the municipal court attempts to exercise jurisdiction over matters outside either of those categories, we have found them to be exceeding their authority. First, municipal town councils must limit the jurisdiction of their courts to local and municipal matters. In City & County of Denver v. Bridwell, 122 Colo. 520, 524, 224 P.2d 217, 218 (1950), for example, we held that a home rule city's ordinance, which attempted to reserve power in the municipality to change the appellate process of the state courts, exceeded the bounds of the municipality's power to define jurisdiction over matters of local concern. In that case, the municipality enacted an ordinance that stated that the City and County of Denver's municipal court would have original jurisdiction over all cases arising under the ordinances of the City and County of Denver. Id. at 523, 224 P.2d at 218. Further, the ordinance stated that until changed by ordinances, the procedure relating to appeals prescribed [in the existing statutory provisions] shall, so far as applicable, govern the said municipal court and appeals therefrom. Id., 224 P.2d at 218. In reviewing these provisions, we did not find it necessary to consider the section relating to the municipal court's original jurisdiction. Instead, we addressed only the provision regarding the municipal court's ability to change the appellate process by home rule ordinance. Noting that the jurisdiction of appellate courts was a matter of statewide and not local concern, we held that the municipal court could not legislate in that area. [I]t is doubtful that the municipality could be (sic) ordinance effectively or legally provide the right of appeal to a state court, since that would have the effect of creating a part of the jurisdiction of a state court and would be the exercise of an extraordinary power not included within the powers of local self-government. Id. at 524, 224 P.2d at 218. Thus, while we noted that it would be unlikely that a home rule city could pass an ordinance changing the jurisdiction of the state courts, a matter of statewide concern, we did not dispute that the municipal court could control its own jurisdiction, a matter of local concern. Rather, we merely reiterated what the constitution already states: home rule cities may only define the jurisdiction of their municipal courts, not the jurisdiction of state courts. Id., 224 P.2d at 218; see also Williams, 38 Colo. at 506, 88 P. at 466 (home rule city cannot legislate with respect to the jurisdiction of state courts); Hardamon v. Municipal Court, 178 Colo. 271, 276, 497 P.2d 1000, 1002 (1972) (broad powers granted to home rule cities to create, control, and define the jurisdiction of municipal courts are limited to matters which are local and municipal in nature; consequently, home rule cities may not deny substantive rights granted to all citizens of the state). Thus, municipal courts must define their jurisdiction so that it is within the sphere of purely local and municipal matters. Second, we have allowed municipal courts to exercise only the jurisdiction that the town council has granted to the court in the town charter or ordinances. Therefore, even if an issue is one of local concern, if the town has not included it within the jurisdiction of the municipal court, a municipal court cannot hear the matter. Rather, the municipal court must leave it to the general jurisdiction of the district court. See Denver County Court v. Lee, 165 Colo. 455, 458, 439 P.2d 737, 738 (1968) (where statutes creating court do not confer jurisdiction over certain matters, should not presume such jurisdiction to exist); City of Englewood v. Parkinson, 703 P.2d 626, 628 (Colo.App.1985) (where town did not include civil claims for money within jurisdiction of municipal court, court not authorized to hear such claims). Consequently, by defining the jurisdiction of its court, the town council plays a critical role in determining which cases of local and municipal concern will fall within the ambit of the municipal court's jurisdiction.