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Town of Eaton |
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Municipal Court |
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Thomas Hellerich, Judge |
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Alice Leonard, Court Clerk |
| Court: |
Eaton Municipal Court |
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223 1st Street |
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Eaton, Colorado 80615 |
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Phone: 970.454.2212 |
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Fax: 970.454.3339 |
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| Prosecuting Attorney: |
R. Russell Anson |
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820 13th Street |
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Greeley, Colorado 80631 |
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Phone: 970.353.5508 |
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Court Clerk Office |
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| The Eaton Municipal Court Clerk position is a
combined position with the Eaton Police Department records division.
You may reach the Court Clerk at 970.454.2212 Monday through Friday 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m. (excluding legal holidays) |
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Court Location |
| The Eaton Municipal Court is held in the Eaton Municipal
Building located at 223 1st Street in Eaton. Court sessions are held
in the Municipal Auditorium on the west end of the building. |
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Court Sessions |
| The Eaton Municipal Court is held the
first and second
Thursdays of each month (excluding legal holidays).
Court sessions
begin at 1:30 in the afternoon. Defendants may check in for court
beginning at 1:00 p.m. Defendants are seen on a first come first
served basis according to the time of check-in. Trial sessions,
hearings and reviews are scheduled separately at times designated by the
Court. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, all Eaton Municipal
Court sessions are open to the general public. |
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Payment of Fines |
| Defendants may pay their assessed fines anytime before
their scheduled court date. If a fine amount is indicated on the face
of your summons, you may send in that fine in lieu of court appearance.
However, is there is no fine indicated on the face of the summons, this
requires an appearance in court on your designated court date. if you
choose to mail in the fine, follow the instructions on the reverse of the
summons you received. You must understand that paying the fine
indicates your desire to plead guilty to the charge and no further hearings
would be heard on your case. If the summons is for a violation
of the Model Traffic Code, a report of the conviction would be entered an
points assess against your driver's license. |
Fines may be paid by the following methods:
 | Check or Money Order made payable to the Eaton Municipal Court |
| Payments may be made in person at the Eaton Police Department |
| Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express are accepted |
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| All Payments must be made payable to the Eaton Municipal
Court, 223 1st Street, Eaton, Colorado 80615. To assure proper credit,
please enclose a copy of your summons with the payment. Any check that
is issued to the Court for assessed fines that is returned as non-sufficient
funds or account closed will result in a warrant for your arrest and
possible new charges of check fraud. |
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Arraignments and Trials |
| Your first appearance in court is known as an arraignment.
This hearing is when the Judge will advise you of your rights. After
the reading of the rights, the Defendant will be asked to plead guilty or
not guilty to the charges. The Prosecuting Attorney will be present
before court to discuss your case. The prosecutor may be willing to
enter into a plea agreement with the Defendant. The Defendant is under
no obligation to enter into such an agreement. If a Defendant truly
believes that they are not guilty, they should enter a not guilty plea and
request a trial in the case. |
| Trials are set by the Court at the arraignment. In
most cases, the Judge hears trials. However, a Defendant may request a
jury trial. By Municipal Code, the case must involve a possible jail
sentence in order to be heard by a jury, otherwise the Judge will hear the
case. The jury usually consists of three members, unless otherwise
requested by the Defendant, not to exceed six persons. A Jury Trial is
assessed additional fees. |
| If you are going to have a trial, you may have third
parties issued a subpoena. In order to request a party to receive a
subpoena, you must contact the Eaton Municipal Court Clerk. The Clerk
will make out the Subpoena, however the Defendant is responsible for the
service and delivery of the subpoena to the party. |
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Automatic Point
Reduction |
| For violations of the Model Traffic Code, the Eaton Town
Board has approved an automatic point reduction system. This is
essentially a plea agreement situation. It requires that the Defendant
pay their fine within 20 days of the issue of the summons. If the
Court Clerk receives the payment within the 20 days, the number of points
assessed against your license will be reduced automatically. Two
points will be taken away from any violation with more that four points.
Any two-point violation will be reduced to one point. For example, a
six-point violation paid within 20 days would become a four-point
assessment. |
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Continuances
and Deferred Payments |
| If you wish to continue your case to a later court date or
make deferred payments, you must appear before the Judge to receive approval
from the Court. |
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