Criminal Records Request

Requests for documents and other material in the possession of the District Attorney’s Office other than through the discovery process are governed by the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA), C.R.S. 24-72-200.1 et seq. and the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA), C.R.S. 24-72-301 et seq.

Anyone other than the defendant or the defendant’s attorney wishing to request discoverable materials from the District Attorney’s Office must do so by filing a CORA/CCJRA Request Form and submit it to the District Attorney’s Office with a $25 review fee*.  Once received, a lawyer will review the request to determine what materials, if any, are approved for release.  Any documents produced as a result of a criminal justice records request will be redacted of all personal information for all involved parties.  NOTE:  Information identifying juveniles, sex assault victims, and child victims are by law protected from public disclosure.

*All fees will be waived when the victim is the requesting party.

Because the District Attorney’s Office is a criminal justice agency, most of its records will be criminal justice records, and therefore records requests will generally fall under the provisions of the CCJRA.  Criminal justice records for a specific case are generally not releasable until after the case has been closed, when no further court action is pending. Additionally, the recommended response times in CORA are not found in CCJRA.  Further, under CCJRA, with the exception of records of “official action,” as defined, the disclosure of other criminal justice records is at the discretion of the custodian, and may be denied where the custodian believes disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.

The office will attempt to fulfill open records requests governed by CORA within three business days.  If the request cannot be filled within three business days, the requestor will receive notice that additional time, up to seven working days, will be necessary.  Requests received after the close of business will be considered as received on the next business day.

Requests for criminal justice records governed by CCJRA often will take longer to respond to, depending upon the nature of the request.

The requesting party will be notified if the requested records are not available, if the records are not covered by CORA, or they will not be released under CCJRA.

Standard fees for records requests include copy charges, research and retrieval time, and actual costs associated with fulfilling the request.

Requested records will not be provided to the requestor until all required fees have been paid.

Standard Fees

Per case:  $25 non-refundable check or money order to initiate and review the records requested.  Minimum research and retrieval time and copying to one CD/DVD are included.

If the records request requires extended research and retrieval time, reproduction of bulk files (such as multiple boxes of records per case), or extensive redaction, or requires more than one CD/DVD to complete the request, an additional fee of $25 may be charged.

Compiled Data & Fees

The District Attorney’s Office is not required to create reports or compilations of computerized data or to modify existing records in order to create a new record in response to a records request.

Entities requesting compiled data as part of their records request must also sign the Compiled Data Request form.  CLICK HERE Records Request for Compiled Data 2006 for the office policy on compiled data and Request form.

Requests that require IT staff to search electronic records will require a minimum deposit of $100 when IT estimates that the search will take longer than five hours of staff time.

If data is compiled or reports created as part of a request, the District Attorney’s Office will charge a reasonable fee based on the hourly wage of the employee who collects and prepares the information, but no more than $25 per hour after the first hour.

How to Make a Records Request

CORA/CCJRA 2017 Records Request Form

For compiled data requests, please CLICK HERE Records Request for Compiled Data 2006 for the office policy and Request form.

Media requests for records should be sent to Ken Lane, Communications Director, at Kenneth.lane@denverda.org.