Cases Of Domestic Violence In Municipal Court

Beginning January 1, 2024, the bill prohibits the prosecution of an alleged act of domestic violence in municipal courts. The county and district courts retain jurisdiction over such cases requires a municipality that has a municipal ordinance that criminalizes an act of domestic violence to adopt an ordinance establishing:

• Protections and rights for victims, victim's families, and witnesses; sentencing guidelines; conditions of probation; conditions of release on bond; and guidelines and standards that are consistent with similar provisions for prosecuting an act of domestic violence in district court; and
• A requirement that the prosecuting attorney who initially meets with the victim after the charges are filed make a reasonable effort to remain as the prosecuting attorney throughout the proceeding.

In a case involving an alleged violation of a municipal ordinance that criminalizes an act of domestic violence, the bill requires a municipal court to issue a protection order; report or cause to be reported the alleged violation to the Colorado bureau of investigation (CBI) and enter the information into the Colorado crime information center (CCIC) database and the national crime information center (NCIC) database; and search the CBI, CCIC database, and the NCIC system database to determine if the respondent has a history of domestic violence.

The bill states that any case involving an alleged violation of a municipal ordinance that criminalizes an act of domestic violence is a misdemeanor for the purposes of complying with federal law.

The bill authorizes any affected person to enforce compliance with the bill by notifying the crime victim services advisory board of any noncompliance.

Beginning January 2025 and each year thereafter until January 2029, the bill requires the department of public safety to report during the department's "SMART Act" hearing the total number of reports and inquiries submitted to CBI, the CCIC database, and the NCIC database.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)