What are the penalties for failing to respond to a jury duty summons in Colorado?

1. How Colorado frames juror duty and enforcement

Colorado’s official judiciary materials stress that jury service is a civic obligation and provide processes for postponement, transfer, and excusal; the Colorado Judicial Branch’s jury pages and FAQs direct citizens to contact their county jury commissioner if they cannot comply or need a postponement of up to six months, implying administrative remedies are the first line of response rather than immediate criminalization ^{[4] [2] [1]}.

2. What the statutes and court pages emphasize — employer protections and compensation

State guidance and statute citations repeatedly focus on juror compensation and employer obligations: employers may not harass, coerce, or discharge employees for responding to a summons, and wages up to $50 per day may be due under Colo. Rev. Stat. §13‑71‑126; these provisions are prominently referenced in Colorado Judicial Branch FAQs and Department of Labor materials ^{[2] [3] [5]}.

3. Where the record is silent — specific penalties for skipping a summons

The assembled official pages and summaries in the provided sources explain jury administration, eligibility, postponements, and employer remedies but do not list a precise penalty (for example, a fixed fine or jail time) that applies uniformly when an individual simply fails to respond to a jury summons; the sources therefore do not supply a single statutory punishment to quote (available sources do not mention a specific penalty amount or criminal sanction for non‑appearance) ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

4. Likely administrative measures and local discretion

Although the statewide documents do not enumerate a single statewide fine, Colorado’s court system gives local jury commissioners and judges authority to manage juror noncompliance; the practical picture from the Judicial Branch materials is that counties handle missed appearances through follow‑up notices, possible rescheduling, and judicial orders rather than an automatic uniform criminal proceeding referenced in these summaries ^{[4] [1]}.

5. Competing perspectives and the limits of publicly posted FAQs

Official FAQs (Colorado Judicial Branch, county jury pages) are administrative and emphasize resolving conflicts and employer responsibilities; secondary overviews (e.g., summary sites) warn that failing to appear “can result in legal repercussions,” but those summaries do not point to a specific Colorado statutory penalty in the official sources we have here — a distinction between cautionary guidance and a codified, uniform sanction exists in the reporting ^{[6] [2]}.

6. Practical steps if you received a summons

The Colorado Judicial Branch instructs summoned citizens to check reporting instructions, use the “night before” phone number, request postponements (up to six months) or contact their local jury commissioner for questions — following those administrative steps is the documented route to avoid escalation in the materials provided ^{[4] [1]}.

7. Where to look next for a definitive statutory citation

The documents we have reference Colorado Revised Statutes chapters (for example juror compensation and harassment statutes), but the specific statute detailing penalties for nonappearance is not reproduced in the excerpts here; to get a definitive, citable penalty amount or criminal provision you should request the full text of the relevant Colorado Revised Statutes or contact your county jury commissioner or clerk of court ^{[3] [7]}.

Limitations and note on sources: this analysis relies only on the provided Colorado Judicial Branch, Department of Labor, General Assembly and related summaries; those sources emphasize administration, compensation, and employer protection ^{[1] [2] [3]}. They do not contain a clear, single statutory penalty for failing to respond to a jury summons in Colorado (available sources do not mention a specific penalty amount or criminal sanction for non‑appearance).