Rule Change 2026(05)

THE COLORADO APPELLATE RULES — Rules 3.5, 10, 21, 40, 52, and 54

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RULE CHANGE 2026(05)
THE COLORADO APPELLATE RULES
Rules 3.5, 10, 21, 40, 52, and 54




Rule 3.5. Appeals of Mental Health Orders Pursuant to § 27-65-114
(a) to (b) [NO CHANGE]
(1) to (3) [NO CHANGE]
(4) If subsequent orders regarding medication or certification are entered by the district court, or
if subsequent events affect the judgment from which appellant initially appealed, counsel for
appellant must, within 14 days after entry of the subsequent order or occurrence of the
subsequent event, file an appropriate notice or motion informing the Court of that subsequent
order or eventmotion to amend the notice of appeal.
(c) to (o) [NO CHANGE]




Rule 10. Record on Appeal
(a) to (c) [NO CHANGE]
(d) Designation of Transcripts.
(1) [NO CHANGE]
(2) Any party designating transcripts must comply with the policies adopted by the appellate and
trial courts for designating transcripts.Form 8 must be used to file any designation of transcripts.
Any party designating transcripts must comply with the policies adopted by the appellate and
trial courts for designating transcripts.
(3) [NO CHANGE]
(e) to (g) [NO CHANGE]
COMMENTS [NO CHANGE]




Rule 21. Original Proceedings in the Supreme Court
(a) to (c) [NO CHANGE]
(d) Form, Caption, and Title of the Petition.
(1) Form. Unless otherwise provided, the petition and all documents filed under this rule must
comply with the requirements of C.A.R. 28(g) for opening briefs and C.A.R. 32.
(2) Caption and Title.
(A) If there is no underlying proceeding, the petition must be captioned, “In Re [Petitioner v.
Proposed Respondent(s)].”
(B) If there is an underlying proceeding, except as otherwise required by C.A.R. 32(f) or another
provision of these Rules, the petition must use the full, exact, and unmodified caption given by
the lower court or tribunal in the underlying proceeding, “In Re [Caption of Underlying
Proceeding].” Only one case may be listed as the underlying proceeding in the caption.
(C) The petition must be titled “Petition for Order to Show Cause Pursuant to C.A.R. 21.”
(D) Only one underlying proceeding can form the basis of a given petition. If two petitions share
related issues or the same parties, the parties may move to consolidate the proceedings, or the
supreme court may consolidate the proceedings on its own motion.
(e) to (p) [NO CHANGE]




Rule 40. Petition for Rehearing
(a) to (b) [NO CHANGE]
(c) Petition for Rehearing in Supreme Court Proceedings. A petition for rehearing filed in
proceedings before the supreme court must comply with the requirements of subsections (a) and
(b) of this rule.
(1) to (2) [NO CHANGE]
(3) In Certiorari Proceedings. A petition for rehearing may be filed after issuance of an opinion
on the merits of a granted petition for writ of certiorari, or when, after granting a writ of
certiorari, the court later denies dismisses the writ as having been improvidently granted. No
petition for rehearing may be filed after issuance of an order denying a petition for writ of
certiorari.
(4) [NO CHANGE]




Rule 52. Review on Certiorari--Time for Petitioning
(a) [NO CHANGE]
(b) Time to File.
(1) In General. Except as provided in subsections (2), (3), and (4) of this rule, a petition for writ
of certiorari must be filed within 42 days after entry of the final judgment on appeal, whether by
opinion or disposition by order, if no petition for rehearing is filed. If a petition for rehearing is
filed, the petition for writ of certiorari must be filed within 28 days after the intermediate
appellate court's denial of the petition for rehearing or within 28 days after the intermediate court
issues a new or modified opinion after granting the petition for rehearing. No certiorari
proceeding may be initiated in the supreme court until the time for filing a petition for rehearing
in the intermediate appellate court has expired. A timely filed petition for writ of certiorari or a
timely filed motion for extension of time to file a petition for writ of certiorari transfers
jurisdiction from the court of appealsintermediate appellate court to the supreme court.
(2) to (4) [NO CHANGE]
COMMENTS [NO CHANGE]




Rule 54. Order Granting or Denying Certiorari
(a) [NO CHANGE]
(b) Denial of Writ. No mandate will issue upon the denial of a petition for writ of certiorari.
Whenever the court denies a petition for writ of certiorari, the clerk will issue an order to that
effect, and will notify the lower court and counsel of record. If, after granting the writ, the court
later denies dismisses the same as having been improvidently granted or renders decision by
opinion of the court on the merits of the writ, a petition for rehearing may be filed in accordance
with the provisions of C.A.R. 40. No petition for rehearing may be filed after the issuance of an
order denying a petition for writ of certiorari. Upon the denial of a petition for writ of certiorari
or denial of a petition for rehearing following dismissal as improvidently granted, jurisdiction is
immediately returned to the intermediate appellate court, and the case is closed in the supreme
court.




Rule 3.5. Appeals of Mental Health Orders Pursuant to § 27-65-114
(a) to (b) [NO CHANGE]
(1) to (3) [NO CHANGE]
(4) If subsequent orders regarding medication or certification are entered by the district court, or
if subsequent events affect the judgment from which appellant initially appealed, counsel for
appellant must, within 14 days after entry of the subsequent order or occurrence of the
subsequent event, file an appropriate notice or motion informing the Court of that subsequent
order or event.
(c) to (o) [NO CHANGE]




Rule 10. Record on Appeal
(a) to (c) [NO CHANGE]
(d) Designation of Transcripts.
(1) [NO CHANGE]
(2) Any party designating transcripts must comply with the policies adopted by the appellate and
trial courts for designating transcripts.
(3) [NO CHANGE]
(e) to (g) [NO CHANGE]
COMMENTS [NO CHANGE]




Rule 21. Original Proceedings in the Supreme Court
(a) to (c) [NO CHANGE]
(d) Form, Caption, and Title of the Petition.
(1) Form. Unless otherwise provided, the petition and all documents filed under this rule must
comply with the requirements of C.A.R. 28(g) for opening briefs and C.A.R. 32.
(2) Caption and Title.
(A) If there is no underlying proceeding, the petition must be captioned, “In Re [Petitioner v.
Proposed Respondent(s)].”
(B) If there is an underlying proceeding, except as otherwise required by C.A.R. 32(f) or another
provision of these Rules, the petition must use the full, exact, and unmodified caption given by
the lower court or tribunal in the underlying proceeding, “In Re [Caption of Underlying
Proceeding].”
(C) The petition must be titled “Petition for Order to Show Cause Pursuant to C.A.R. 21.”
(D) Only one underlying proceeding can form the basis of a given petition. If two petitions share
related issues or the same parties, the parties may move to consolidate the proceedings, or the
supreme court may consolidate the proceedings on its own motion.
(e) to (p) [NO CHANGE]




Rule 40. Petition for Rehearing
(a) to (b) [NO CHANGE]
(c) Petition for Rehearing in Supreme Court Proceedings. A petition for rehearing filed in
proceedings before the supreme court must comply with the requirements of subsections (a) and
(b) of this rule.
(1) to (2) [NO CHANGE]
(3) In Certiorari Proceedings. A petition for rehearing may be filed after issuance of an opinion
on the merits of a granted petition for writ of certiorari, or when, after granting a writ of
certiorari, the court later dismisses the writ as having been improvidently granted. No petition for
rehearing may be filed after issuance of an order denying a petition for writ of certiorari.
(4) [NO CHANGE]




Rule 52. Review on Certiorari--Time for Petitioning
(a) [NO CHANGE]
(b) Time to File.
(1) In General. Except as provided in subsections (2), (3), and (4) of this rule, a petition for writ
of certiorari must be filed within 42 days after entry of the final judgment on appeal, whether by
opinion or disposition by order, if no petition for rehearing is filed. If a petition for rehearing is
filed, the petition for writ of certiorari must be filed within 28 days after the intermediate
appellate court's denial of the petition for rehearing or within 28 days after the intermediate court
issues a new or modified opinion after granting the petition for rehearing. No certiorari
proceeding may be initiated in the supreme court until the time for filing a petition for rehearing
in the intermediate appellate court has expired. A timely filed petition for writ of certiorari or a
timely filed motion for extension of time to file a petition for writ of certiorari transfers
jurisdiction from the intermediate appellate court to the supreme court.
(2) to (4) [NO CHANGE]
COMMENTS [NO CHANGE]




Rule 54. Order Granting or Denying Certiorari
(a) [NO CHANGE]
(b) Denial of Writ. No mandate will issue upon the denial of a petition for writ of certiorari.
Whenever the court denies a petition for writ of certiorari, the clerk will issue an order to that
effect, and will notify the lower court and counsel of record. If, after granting the writ, the court
later dismisses the same as having been improvidently granted or renders decision by opinion of
the court on the merits of the writ, a petition for rehearing may be filed in accordance with the
provisions of C.A.R. 40. No petition for rehearing may be filed after the issuance of an order
denying a petition for writ of certiorari. Upon the denial of a petition for writ of certiorari or
denial of a petition for rehearing following dismissal as improvidently granted, jurisdiction is
immediately returned to the intermediate appellate court, and the case is closed in the supreme
court.




Amended and Adopted by the Court, En Banc, March 26, 2026, effective immediately.
By the Court:
Richard L. Gabriel
Justice, Colorado Supreme Court

Verbatim from the official publication; the only normalization is removal of the publisher's page headers. Verify against the official source for filing-critical use — court publications change without notice.