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Lawmakers aim to divide 18th Judicial District More than 1 million residents live in current four-county jurisdiction BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
George Brauchler, shown here at a July 2019 press conference, was first elected district attorney for the 18th Judicial District in 2012.
The start to a new legislative session has reignited plans to split up the state’s fastest-growing and most populous judicial district — the 18th Judicial District. Or, what one lawmaker called a “monstrous” chunk of Colorado crammed under a single district’s oversight. In short, lawmakers say the district is pressured by rapid population growth and increasingly diverse communities with different individual needs. “It has become monstrous, so to speak. Just a very large judicial district compared to all the others,” said State Rep. Kevin Van Winkle, R-Highlands Ranch, a bill sponsor. Colorado state lawmakers on Jan. 8 introduced House Bill 20-1026, which would create a 23rd Judicial District by splitting the 18th in two. The district today serves more than 1 million people and comprises Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties. The next largest, Colorado’s 4th Judicial District, serves fewer than 750,000 people. If passed, the bill would leave Arapahoe County in the 18th Judicial District and place the remaining three counties into another, creating Colorado’s newest judicial district in decades. The state has operated 22 judicial districts for the past five decades despite growing in population by more than 3.5 million people in that same time, the bill states. Colorado SEE DISTRICT, P10
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Englewood’s population per square mile of 4,614 is higher than that of Denver (3,923) and Aurora (2,101). Source: U.S. Census Bureau
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VOLUME 99 | ISSUE 48