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Colorado's Top Judge Pleads For Courthouse Repairs

DENVER (AP) — Colorado's top judge says some of Colorado rural courthouses are "really terrible" and need immediate repairs.

Chief Justice Nancy Rice talked about the problems in colorful detail Friday in the annual State of the Judiciary address.

Rice thanked lawmakers for money to upgrade Colorado's probation system, and for some technology upgrades.

But she said that some of Colorado's rural courthouses need immediate attention. She mentioned a courthouse in Walsenburg, where judges' chairs are covered in bat excrement. But Rice used a more colorful term than "excrement."

Colorado's 100 lawmakers laughed. Sen. Ellen Roberts later joked that lawmakers wouldn't be allowed such colorful language in their debates.

Rice has been Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court since early 2014.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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