Access to Administrative Records

The following policy governs all requests for access to administrative records of the Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge (“OPDJ”) under the Colorado Supreme Court Public Access to Information and Records Rule 2 (“P.A.I.R.R. 2”). This policy is intended to ensure that the OPDJ responds to requests for administrative records in a prompt and consistent manner. This policy applies only to the OPDJ. 

Request to the Custodian. Under P.A.I.R.R. 2, a request to inspect or obtain copies of administrative records must be directed to Administrative Records Custodian of the OPDJ at pdj@pdj.state.co.us. Requests that cite the federal Freedom of Information Act or the Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. section 24-72-200.1, et seq., will be treated as though they were made under P.A.I.R.R. 2. A request for administrative records should be titled as such and should include the date the request was delivered to the OPDJ’s custodian; the requested records; and the requestor’s name, address, telephone number, and email address. 

Format of Records Produced. The OPDJ can only produce those records already in existence and maintained by the OPDJ. P.A.I.R.R. 2 § 4(b)(1)(B) provides that the OPDJ’s custodian may determine the format in which records are inspected or produced. If the documents are made available for inspection, the OPDJ’s custodian will provide written notice of the date, time, and location for the inspection of the available records. 

Fees for Copies, Scanned Images, or Data Storage Device. A fee of $0.25 per page ($0.50 if double-sided) will be charged for a photocopied, scanned, or printed image of a record; the OPDJ will not charge a fee, however, for the first twenty pages (ten pages if double-sided) it produces. If the record is provided on a data storage device, the actual cost of the data storage device will also be charged, regardless of the number of scanned or photocopied pages provided on the data storage device. 

Fees for Research, Retrieval, or Redaction. If review, retrieval, or research, including redaction of documents, is required to provide the information requested, the OPDJ’s custodian will, under C.J.D. 06-01, assess the requestor a fee at the rate of $30.00 per hour to recoup the costs of the OPDJ’s employee time and resources; there will be no charge, however, for the first hour expended in connection with research, retrieval, and redaction. 

Deposit Required. Before fulfilling a request for administrative records that will involve the assessment of fees, the OPDJ’s custodian will provide the requestor with an estimate of the cost of complying with the request. The estimate will be based on the custodian’s preliminary search for records. While the OPDJ and the requestor communicate about the required deposit and the scope of the request, the OPDJ’s timeframe to provide access to responsive documents under P.A.I.R.R. 2 is tolled. The requestor must deposit with the OPDJ the full amount of the estimate before any records are retrieved, redacted, scanned, or otherwise produced. Once the OPDJ’s custodian has completed the request, the OPDJ either will await receipt of any remaining fees before producing records or, if applicable, will provide access to the available records and refund the unused portion of the requestor’s deposit.

Revised on June 1, 2023.