About Us

Courtroom 191J is a municipal juvenile court for juveniles between the ages of 10 and 17, housed within the General Sessions Division. It was created in 1987 to fill the gap between having nothing done with minor offenders and sending a young person to the state juvenile court system, usually reserved for far more serious offenders. Courtroom 191J is generally for first offenders and for relatively minor kinds of city offenses such as curfew violations, shoplifting, petty theft, possession of marijuana and/or alcohol, minor property damage, minor assaults, unlawful acts around schools, etc. It is not the state Denver Juvenile court. (The state juvenile court handles matters of more serious criminal offenses including robbery, auto theft, sexual assault, burglary, truancy matters, dependency and neglect matters, paternity determinations and child support orders, etc.) The state website gives additional information about the District Juvenile Court In comparison with the state juvenile court system, Courtroom 191J has limited powers and very limited resources.

During the school year, violations from schools constitute approximately one third of all cases received by Courtroom 191J.

The primary intent and purpose of the court is to hold offenders accountable for any violations, but also to educate and treat them so that future offenses are not committed.

If a person pleads guilty or is found guilty, the judge may order many things, but the judge cannot impose a jail or detention sentence. The judge may order the defendant to pay fines (up to $999.00 per offense); do community service through the Useful Public Service (UPS) or Sheriff’s Work Program; attend and pay for classes such as drug/alcohol education, violence prevention, conflict management, shoplifting deterrence, development courses intended to keep people in school, parenting classes, fire deterrence education, etc.; pay restitution for damages done; and/or pay court fees.

Only if a person fails to abide by a court order may the court impose a sentence to detention. Even then, the sentence may only be up to two days for each violation of a court order.