Colorado's New 23rd Judicial District: What the Douglas–Elbert–Lincoln Split Means for Your Case
Colorado's first new judicial district in decades is now operating. If your case is in Douglas, Elbert, or Lincoln County, here's what changed.
Charles E. Liken Jr., Esq. — On Colorado's Legal Front Lines Since 1995 · Government Investigator, Denver Human Services (1997–2003) · Licensed Colorado Attorney Since 2003 ~ 20+ Years in Private Practice · Colorado Deputy District Attorney (2018–2020) · Colorado Court-Appointed Child and Family Investigator
As of January 2025, Douglas, Elbert, and Lincoln counties are no longer part of the 18th Judicial District — they now form Colorado's brand-new 23rd Judicial District, with its own District Attorney's office in Castle Rock. The 18th now covers Arapahoe County alone.
For anyone with a criminal or protection-order matter in those three counties, the change is more than cosmetic: a new DA's office means new charging patterns, new diversion practices, and a new victim-witness unit. Knowing how a particular office approaches a case — what it tends to charge, bargain, or take to trial — is prosecution-side pattern recognition, and it resets when the office is new.
Our Safety & Victim Resources center now lists the 23rd District's victim-advocate contacts alongside all 22 other Colorado districts. If you're not sure which district your case sits in, that's the kind of question a no-charge 20-minute call with Charles sorts out quickly.
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