The Colorado General Assembly is considering legislation to address the issue of excessive penalties for individuals who fail to appear for scheduled municipal court dates. Key provisions of the bill include:
Prohibition of Criminal Charges for Failure to Appear: Municipal courts would be barred from filing criminal charges against individuals solely for failing to appear at a scheduled court date.
Elimination of Jail Sentences for Non-Appearance: Municipal judges would be prohibited from imposing jail sentences on individuals for failing to appear in court.
Uniform Application Across Municipalities: The bill adds these prohibitions to the list of state laws that cannot be superseded by a charter or ordinance enacted by a home rule city, ensuring consistent application across all municipalities.
Clarification of "Failure to Appear" Definition: The term "failure to appear" is defined to include contempt of court for the failure to appear or any other term used by a municipality to refer to a person's failure to attend a scheduled court date.
Summary
The bill prohibits a person's failure to appear from forming the
basis of a municipal criminal charge against the person and prohibits a municipal judge from imposing a jail sentence for a person's failure to appear. The bill adds the failure to appear and contempt of court for the failure to appear prohibitions to the list of state laws that cannot be superseded by a charter or ordinance enacted by a home rule city. The bill clarifies that, for purposes of the bill, failure to appear
includes contempt of court for the failure to appear or any other term used by a municipality to refer to a person's failure to appear at a scheduled court date.
