Kevin Cheney, managing partner of CGH Injury Lawyers and a Denver trial attorney who has tried more than 25 cases to verdict, is serving on the state committee examining how Colorado picks its juries, which is collecting public feedback before it reports to the legislature in December.
The committee, formally the Jury Selection Working Group, was created by House Bill 26-1288, signed into law May 28, 2026, and codified at C.R.S. 13-3-121. Its members include the state public defender, the attorney general, representatives of statewide district attorney, civil trial, civil defense and criminal defense associations, four judges representing district, county, rural and urban courts, two jury commissioners and a professor with research experience in jury selection. Cheney holds the civil trial lawyer seat as treasurer of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association. Appointments were due by June 15, 2026, and the committee is meeting through the end of the year.
The committee is not working from a single problem statement, Cheney told Denver7 in reporting published July 28, 2026. It is facilitating broader conversations about how to make sure fair and unbiased juries are seated.
The statute directs the committee to identify best practices in six areas: how much time attorneys get for voir dire, the use of case-specific or model juror questionnaires, rules for rehabilitating jurors, model bench book scripts, training for judges and lawyers and any other jury selection matter the committee considers appropriate.
Time is one of the areas already under review. Attorneys are sometimes given only up to 20 minutes to question 16 potential jurors, Cheney told the station, and the committee is weighing whether that window should be widened or whether time could be freed up another way, such as written questionnaires completed before a juror's court date. Several Colorado judicial districts already use questionnaires, though the practice is not standard statewide. Written answers, Cheney said, let potential jurors respond to personal questions without doing so in front of everyone in the courtroom — a prior injury, a medical history, a relative in law enforcement.
The stakes are concrete in civil injury cases. Colorado's modified comparative negligence rule, C.R.S. 13-21-111, bars recovery entirely for a plaintiff found 50 percent or more at fault, and non-economic damages are capped at $1.5 million for claims accruing on or after Jan. 1, 2025, under C.R.S. 13-21-102.5. A jury decides both questions. Voir dire is the only stage at which either side can identify a juror who cannot be impartial about the injury, the treatment or the money at issue; once the panel is seated, the deliberation belongs to the jurors. Injury cases arising in Denver County are tried at Denver District Court in the Second Judicial District, where juries weigh claims from crashes on the Interstate 25 and Interstate 70 corridors, pedestrian collisions on Colfax Avenue and falls on unsafe property.
Cheney's seat reflects a trial-first practice rather than a policy background. CGH Injury Lawyers has operated in Denver since 2016, prepares cases for trial and files directly in Denver District Court, and Cheney's ABOTA membership is invitation-based and requires documented civil jury trial experience. He also sits on the Colorado Bar Association Board of Governors. The firm employs eight attorneys, works in English and Spanish and holds a 5.0-star rating across more than 300 Google reviews. Its cases are the kind decided by Colorado juries: motor vehicle and truck crashes, premises liability, catastrophic injury and wrongful death.
The committee must submit a progress report of its findings, and any recommendations for statutory or rule changes, to the House and Senate judiciary committees and every Colorado Supreme Court justice on or before Dec. 1, 2026. If it recommends rule changes, the Colorado Supreme Court must respond by June 15, 2027. Before then, the committee is asking the public to weigh in on the selection process, and comments can be submitted through the Colorado Judicial Branch's jury selection working group page.
Colorado accident victims who want to understand how comparative negligence, damages caps and a Denver County jury trial could affect a personal injury or wrongful death claim can request a free case review with the trial attorneys at CGH Injury Lawyers at https://www.cghlawfirm.com.
This press release contains general legal information and does not constitute legal advice. Results vary by case. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.
About CGH Injury Lawyers
CGH Injury Lawyers, formerly Cheney Galluzzi & Howard, LLC, is a plaintiff-side personal injury law firm founded in 2016 that represents injured Coloradans from its Denver office. Cases include motor vehicle crashes, premises liability, catastrophic injury and wrongful death. Managing partner Kevin Cheney is treasurer of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association and an ABOTA member. CGH Injury Lawyers, 2701 Lawrence St Suite 201, Denver, CO 80205, United States. (720) 669-8062. https://www.cghlawfirm.com
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For more information about CGH Injury Lawyers, contact the company here:
CGH Injury Lawyers
Tim Galluzzi
+17206698062
info@cghlawfirm.com
2701 Lawrence St Ste 201, Denver, CO 80205, United States
