Criminal Appeal Brief - Colorado

IN THE COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS

APPELLANT'S OPENING BRIEF

Attorney for Defendant-Appellant:

[________________________________]
Colorado Attorney Registration No. [________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________], Colorado [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

Pursuant to C.A.R. 28(g), I certify that this brief contains [________________________________] words (principal brief does not exceed 9,500 words). Headings, footnotes, and quotations are included in the word count. The caption, table of contents, table of authorities, certificate of compliance, certificate of service, and signature block are excluded.

This brief complies with the formatting requirements of C.A.R. 32, including use of [Bookman / Garamond / Times New Roman] in 14-point font with double spacing.

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cover Page
2. Certificate of Compliance
3. Table of Authorities
4. Statement of Jurisdiction
5. Issues Presented for Review
6. Statement of the Case
7. Statement of Facts
8. Summary of the Argument
9. Argument
10. Conclusion
11. Certificate of Service

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Statutes

Rules

I. STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION

This appeal is taken from a final judgment of conviction and sentence entered on [__/__/____] in the District Court, [________________________________] County, Colorado, the Honorable [________________________________] presiding. The Court of Appeals has initial jurisdiction over this appeal under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-4-102(1), subject to that section's exceptions. Colorado created the Court of Appeals under § 13-4-101.

Defendant-Appellant filed a timely notice of appeal on [__/__/____].

☐ The notice of appeal was filed within 49 days after entry of judgment and sentence (C.A.R. 4(b)(1)).
☐ A post-trial motion was filed on [__/__/____] and ruled upon on [__/__/____]; the notice of appeal was timely filed.

II. ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW

1. Whether the trial court erred in [________________________________].

2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction for [________________________________].

3. Whether trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by [________________________________].

4. [________________________________]

III. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On or about [__/__/____], an ☐ information / ☐ indictment was filed in the District Court of [________________________________] County, Colorado, charging Defendant-Appellant with:

[Summarize significant pretrial proceedings, motions, and rulings.]

[________________________________]

On [__/__/____], the case proceeded to ☐ jury trial / ☐ bench trial / ☐ the defendant entered a plea of ☐ guilty / ☐ no contest.

On [__/__/____], the jury returned a verdict of:

[________________________________]

On [__/__/____], the trial court sentenced Defendant-Appellant to:

[________________________________]

(R., Tr. [____]; R., CF [____].)

IV. STATEMENT OF FACTS

A. Prosecution's Case

[________________________________]

(R., Tr. [____].)

B. Defense Case

[________________________________]

(R., Tr. [____].)

V. SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT

Issue 1: [State the principal reason for the requested relief without repeating the issue heading.]

[________________________________]

Issue 2 and any additional issues: [Summarize the major points of reasoning for each.]

[________________________________]

VI. ARGUMENT

A. [ISSUE ONE HEADING]

Standard of Review and Preservation

Standard of review and authority: [________________________________]

Preservation: ☐ Preserved: raised at (R., Tr. [____]; R., CF [____]) and ruled on at (R., Tr. [____]; R., CF [____]). ☐ Unpreserved: explain the requested review standard and supporting authority: [________________________________].

[________________________________]

1. Relevant Proceedings Below

[________________________________]

(R., Tr. [____]; R., CF [____].)

2. Applicable Legal Principles

[________________________________]

3. Analysis

[________________________________]

4. Prejudice

☐ Under Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18 (1967), the constitutional error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because [________________________________].

☐ Under Crider v. People, 186 P.3d 39 (Colo. 2008), the nonconstitutional error was not harmless because there is a reasonable probability the error contributed to the verdict.

B. [ISSUE TWO HEADING]

Standard of Review and Preservation

Standard of review and authority: [________________________________]

Preservation: ☐ Preserved: raised at (R., Tr. [____]; R., CF [____]) and ruled on at (R., Tr. [____]; R., CF [____]). ☐ Unpreserved: explain the requested review standard and supporting authority: [________________________________].

[________________________________]

1. Relevant Proceedings Below

[________________________________]

(R., Tr. [____]; R., CF [____].)

2. Applicable Legal Principles

[________________________________]

3. Analysis

[________________________________]

4. Prejudice

[________________________________]

C. [ADDITIONAL ISSUES AS NEEDED]

[________________________________]

VII. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, Defendant-Appellant respectfully requests that this Court:

☐ Reverse the judgment of conviction and remand with directions to enter a judgment of acquittal.
☐ Reverse the judgment and remand for a new trial.
☐ Vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.
☐ Modify the judgment as follows: [________________________________].
☐ [________________________________]

Respectfully submitted,

Date: [__/__/____]

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Attorney for Defendant-Appellant

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, [________________________________], hereby certify that on [__/__/____], I served the foregoing Appellant's Opening Brief on the following parties by the method indicated:

☐ U.S. Mail, first-class, postage prepaid
☐ Electronic filing via CCE (Colorado Courts E-Filing)
☐ Hand delivery

_________________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]

STATE-SPECIFIC NOTES FOR COLORADO

1. Notice of Appeal Deadline: Must be filed within 49 days after the date of the sentence or final order (C.A.R. 4(b)(1)).

2. Word Limit: Opening brief may not exceed 9,500 words; reply brief may not exceed 5,700 words (C.A.R. 28(g)). Joint answer briefs may not exceed 9,500 words.

3. Appellant's Opening Brief Due: Within 42 days after the record is filed, unless the court orders otherwise. C.A.R. 31(a). Confirm the record-filing date from the appellate clerk's notice.

4. Appellee's Answer Brief Due: Within 35 days after service of the opening brief. An appellant's reply may be filed within 21 days after service of the answer brief. C.A.R. 31(a).

5. Formatting: Must use Bookman, Garamond, or Times New Roman in 14-point font with double spacing (C.A.R. 32).

6. Anders Brief: When appointed counsel finds no meritorious issues, counsel must file a brief per Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), and People v. Rhodes, 120 P.3d 1140 (Colo. 2005), setting forth anything in the record that might arguably support the appeal.

7. Preservation: Generally, an issue must be raised below to be preserved for appeal, subject to plain error review under Colo. R. Crim. P. 52(b).

8. Crim. P. 35(c): Post-conviction claims of ineffective assistance of counsel are generally raised through Colo. R. Crim. P. 35(c) rather than on direct appeal when the claim depends on matters outside the record.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• C.A.R. 31(a), official Colorado Supreme Court Rule Change 2015(06) (42-day opening, 35-day answer, 21-day reply): https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/Rule_Change_2015-06.pdf
• Colorado Judicial Branch, JDF 1935, Step 4: Opening Brief (record certification and 42-day deadline): https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/media/1674
• Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-4-101 and 13-4-102(1) (Court of Appeals establishment and initial jurisdiction), official 2026 compilation: https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-13.htm
• Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 16-12-101 and 16-12-102 (defendant's review right; distinct prosecution appeals), official 2026 compilation: https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-16.htm