Law Office of Joel M Pratt wins Colorado Supreme Court Case, changes law

On June 2, 2025, the Colorado Supreme Court decided People in Interest of R.M.P., 2025 CO 34, a case about when a juvenile court in Colorado must dismiss a case at the government's request.

Colorado Supreme Court

Facts

The government intervened in a family when it should not have. A county department of human services removed a youth and opened a child welfare case. After investigation, it learned it should not have done so and asked to close the case.

The youth objected, claiming a right to prosecute the petition in dependency and neglect against a parent. In other words, even though the government did not believe that the child was abused or neglected, the child wanted to use the dependency and neglect system to stay out of a parent's care.

Colorado Supreme Court Win

In a 6-1 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed with the parent and the government. It held that the court was required to dismiss the case when the government determined it lacked sufficient evidence that a child was abused or neglected. And the Court overruled previous caselaw allowing for children to object to the government's voluntary dismissal of a case.

Legal Effect

This case changes the law in Colorado. Until June 2, children could object to the dismissal of their cases, and juvenile courts were required to keep the case open as a result. No longer.

There is an irony here: even though this case represents a win for the government in a dependency and neglect case, it actually reaffirms the limited role the government and court should play in the family. By limiting a court's ability to keep a case open if the government does not believe it should, the Colorado Supreme Court decreases the ability of others to meddle in the parent-child relationship.

Big picture

This Colorado Supreme Court win is a major victory for parents. It is a good thing when the government admits it made a mistake when interfering in the parent-child relationship. The Court thus empowers the government to help parents in a key way: by ending unnecessary intervention in their lives.