F.  Commencing the Appeal


C.A.R. 4(a)
People in the Interest of E.A., 638 P.2d 278 (Colo. 1981)

A notice of appeal must be filed in the Colorado Court of Appeals within forty-five days of the entry of the order. The time period begins when the order is entered in the register of actions if the parties are present. If the parties are not present, it runs from the date the notice is mailed. The filing deadline may be extended for up to 30 days upon a showing of excusable neglect. 

C.R.S. § 19-1-108(5.5)
An appeal of a judgment or order entered by a district court magistrate when consent is necessary is appealed pursuant to the Colorado Appellate Rules. Magistrates must provide notice of such, and that an appeal may be taken pursuant to C.R.M. 7(b). However, a party may not appeal a juvenile court magistrate without first petitioning for judicial review.

C.R.M. 7(11) and (12)
If timely review in the district court is not requested, the order or judgment of the magistrate becomes the order of judgment of the district court, and an appeal may not be taken to the appellate court.

C.A.R. 4(a)
Timely motions for post-trial relief stay the period a party has to file the notice of appeal. 

C.R.C.P. 59(j)
The period begins to run when the court rules on the motion or at the expiration of sixty days if the motion was not ruled upon and is deemed denied.

C.R.S. § 19-3-609(2)
M.L.B. v. S.L.J., 519 U.S. 102 (1996)

For termination appeals, court fees are waived for indigent parents, and they are entitled to free transcripts. 

People in the Interest of M.N., 950 P.2d 674 (Colo. App. 1997)
However, parents must prove their indigency at the time of appeal.
People in the Interest of N.N.U., 819 P.2d 1107 (Colo. App. 1991)
The court may revisit the issue if new evidence arises, such as if the parent later testifies to being employed. All parents may have access to their termination court files.

C.R.S. § 19-3-609(1)
Appeals for custody, termination and adoption orders are expedited. These appeals must be advanced on the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court calendars. 

C.R.S. § 13-8-124
They must be decided at the earliest practicable time. 

C.R.S. § 19-1-109(1) and (3)
The goal is to resolve these appeals within six months.

People in the Interest of L.O.L., 197 P.3d 291 (Colo. App. 2008)
An appeal of an order denying a motion to terminate mother’s parental rights becomes moot if, after the petition on appeal is filed, the child is returned to the custody of the mother.

Appeals often cause delays in achieving permanency for children. Appellate courts are often blamed for causing these delays, though they may be triggered by occurrences at the trial court level. For example, the time for filing a notice of appeal does not begin until the written order is signed, so any delay by the trial court in signing the order delays the appeal. The court should monitor the case to ensure the county attorney files a proposed written order incorporating the court’s oral findings and order. The court can order the county attorney to file the proposed order by a specified date, and have the court clerk monitor the date.