How to Attend Weld County Virtual Court Hearings

You can attend Weld County virtual court hearings in the 19th Judicial District through Cisco Webex, but only after the court approves your remote appearance. The Colorado Judicial Branch requires prior approval for any virtual attendance, and a statewide directive sorts hearings into those that generally allow video appearances and those that presume you will show up in Greeley.¹

Does Your Hearing Qualify for a Virtual Appearance

Chief Justice Directive 23-03, effective August 1, 2023, controls when Colorado courts permit remote attendance. Some hearings are presumptively flexible, meaning virtual appearance is generally available. Others are presumptively in-person, meaning you need to show good cause to appear by video.²

Virtual attendance is the default for proceedings such as case management and status conferences, domestic relations pre-trial and uncontested matters, criminal pre-trial conferences or dispositions that do not involve a plea to a Victim’s Rights Act offense, temporary protection order hearings, garnishment hearings, criminal petitions to seal records, emergency guardianship or conservator proceedings, and uncontested informal probate matters.²

In-person attendance is presumed for the higher-stakes moments of a case: jury and court trials, criminal preliminary hearings, arraignments, sentencings, suppression hearings, pre-trial readiness conferences, probation revocation evidentiary hearings, termination of parental rights hearings, contempt and show cause hearings, and guilty pleas to Victim’s Rights Act offenses. A judge can still grant a virtual appearance for one of these if you demonstrate good cause, but expect to explain why you cannot physically attend.²

How to Request Approval to Appear Remotely

You cannot simply click a Webex link on your hearing date and expect to be admitted. The Colorado Judicial Branch states that no one may appear virtually without prior approval from the court.¹ For hearings on the flexible list, approval is more routine. For hearings that are presumptively in-person, you will likely need to file a written request or motion explaining your circumstances.

Contact the Weld County Clerk’s Office at (970) 475-2400 or email 19JDRecords@judicial.state.co.us well before your hearing date to ask about the process for your case type. General questions about court procedures can go to the Court Information Center at (970) 475-2410.³ Waiting until the day before your hearing to request remote attendance is a gamble most judges will not reward.

Finding the Right Webex Link

Once the court approves your appearance, you need the correct Webex link. Each division in the 19th Judicial District has its own virtual courtroom, so you must know which division your case is assigned to. The Weld County page on the Colorado Judicial Branch website lists links to every division’s virtual courtroom; scroll to the one matching your case assignment.³ You can also reach the links through the statewide Virtual Courtrooms Directory, which collects every Colorado county’s virtual courtroom pages in one place.⁴

Have your case number handy to confirm you are entering the right division. Joining the wrong courtroom wastes time, and the judge in your actual division may mark you absent.

What You Need Before Your Hearing Date

The 19th Judicial District uses Cisco Webex for virtual hearings.³ Under CJD 23-03, virtual appearance requires a device with real-time simultaneous audio and video. Audio-only attendance is permitted only if the court specifically authorizes it ahead of the proceeding.²

You can join through a web browser or by downloading the Webex application. The app tends to handle longer sessions more reliably than a browser tab. A stable internet connection matters; audio lag or a frozen feed can delay the proceedings and cause you to miss the judge calling your case.

Before your hearing, run a test through Webex’s official diagnostic tool at webex.com/test-meeting. The test lets you check your camera, microphone, and speakers in a simulated meeting without anyone else joining. If you do not already have the Webex app installed, the test will prompt you to download it.⁵ Discovering five minutes before a hearing that your laptop microphone does not work is a problem with no good solution.

Joining the Hearing and Conducting Yourself on Camera

Log in early enough to troubleshoot last-minute connection problems. After clicking the Webex link for your division, you will typically land in a virtual waiting room. Stay there until the court clerk or judicial assistant admits you. The judge may be finishing a prior matter, so the wait can range from a few minutes to much of the morning docket.

Keep your microphone muted until your case is called. Background noise and audio feedback from an open microphone can disrupt other cases being heard. When the judge or clerk calls your name or case number, unmute and clearly identify yourself. Keep your camera on throughout the proceeding unless the judge directs otherwise, and keep relevant documents within arm’s reach.

A virtual hearing carries the same legal weight as one held inside the Greeley courthouse. The judge can hold you in contempt, accept a plea, enter orders, and issue rulings. Treat the screen as you would the bench. Dress as you would in person, with business attire or at minimum business casual. Appear from a quiet, well-lit, private space. Judges have broad discretion over courtroom decorum, and that authority extends to the virtual environment; appearing while driving, eating, or in a clearly inappropriate setting can result in sanctions. All speech and actions during the hearing become part of the official court record.

Do Not Record the Proceeding

Recording a virtual court proceeding without the court’s written permission is prohibited. The Weld County court page warns that any audio recording, visual recording, screen capture, or photograph taken without prior authorization may lead to contempt proceedings, which can include a fine, jail time, or both. The warning references Chief Justice Directive 23-02 and C.R.S. § 13-1-132.³ Courts may also bar specific individuals from remote observation if there is reason to believe they will violate the rule.⁶

Screen-recording software running in the background, a phone propped up to capture the screen, or streaming the hearing to someone not authorized to watch all expose you to contempt charges.

If You Miss Your Hearing or Hit a Technical Problem

Missing a virtual hearing triggers the same consequences as missing an in-person one. The judge can issue a bench warrant for your arrest, revoke bail or bond conditions, and enter a default judgment against you in a civil matter. In criminal cases, failure to appear can itself become an additional charge.

Colorado law provides a narrow window of protection. Under HB20-1123, a court cannot issue a warrant for failure to appear until 72 hours after the missed appearance. If you contact the court and present yourself within that 72-hour window, the court cannot issue the warrant.⁷ That grace period is not an invitation to skip and deal with it later. If you know you will miss your hearing, call the clerk’s office at (970) 475-2400 before the scheduled time.

Internet outages, power failures, and hardware crashes happen. If a technical problem prevents you from joining, call the Weld County Clerk’s Office at (970) 475-2400 immediately and explain the situation. The sooner you reach out, the more credible your explanation becomes.³ If the court treats your absence as a failure to appear, you may need to file a motion asking the judge to set the order aside based on excusable neglect. Courts generally weigh whether the delay prejudiced the other party, how long the delay lasted, the reason for it, and whether you acted in good faith. A one-time internet failure you reported immediately looks very different from a pattern of missed hearings with after-the-fact excuses.

The best defense against technical failure is preparation. Test your equipment beforehand, keep a backup device charged, and have the court’s phone number saved. Some judges will allow you to continue by phone if your video fails mid-proceeding, but that is the judge’s call to make, not yours.

If Your Case Involves Witnesses by Video

Witness sequestration rules still apply in virtual proceedings. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 615 and its Colorado counterpart, a court can order witnesses excluded so they do not hear each other’s testimony. In a virtual setting, witnesses who are not currently testifying should not be logged into the courtroom session or watching a livestream.⁸

The 2023 amendment to Rule 615 explicitly addresses out-of-court exposure to trial testimony, recognizing that recordings, transcripts, and shared screens create new ways for excluded witnesses to access testimony. If you are a party calling witnesses, coordinate ahead of time so they understand they should not join the hearing until the court calls them. Violating a sequestration order can result in the court striking the witness’s testimony or imposing other sanctions.

1
Colorado Judicial Branch. Livestream and Virtual Courtrooms
2
Colorado Judicial Branch. Chief Justice Directive 23-03 – Virtual Proceedings Policy
3
Colorado Judicial Branch. Weld County – 19th Judicial District
4
Colorado Judicial Branch. Virtual Courtrooms Directory
5
Webex. Join a Test Meeting
6
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 13 – Section 13-1-132
7
Colorado General Assembly. HB20-1123 Grace Period Before Failure to Appear Warrant
8
Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 615 – Excluding Witnesses