2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 13 - COURTS AND COURT PROCEDURE (§§ 13-1-101 — 13-100-104) › MUNICIPAL COURTS (§§ 13-10-101 — 13-10-126) › Article 10 - MUNICIPAL COURTS (§§ 13-10-101 — 13-10-126) › Section 13-10-111.5 - Notice to municipal courts of municipal holds

(1)
If a person is detained in a jail on a municipal hold and does not immediately receive a personal recognizance bond, the jail shall promptly notify the municipal court of any municipal hold; except that, if the municipal hold is the sole basis to detain the person, the jail shall notify the municipal court of the municipal hold within four hours. All municipal courts shall establish an e-mail address, if internet service is available, whereby the municipal court can receive notifications from jails. If internet service is not available, the municipal court shall establish a telephone line with voicemail for the same purpose. All jails shall be deemed to have met this notice requirement by sending an e-mail, fax, or teletype to the municipal court or, if these options are unavailable, leaving a voicemail with the municipal court, relaying the notice required in this section.
(2)
Once a municipal court receives notice that the defendant is being held solely on the basis of a municipal hold, the municipal court shall hold a hearing within forty-eight hours after the receipt of such a notice. The county sheriff shall make the in-custody defendant available to appear in a timely manner before a municipal judge for a hearing required by this subsection (2) at the date and time mutually agreed to by the county sheriff and municipal court. This subsection (2) must not be construed to require the county sheriff to transport the in-custody defendant to the municipal court. It is not a violation of this section if a bond hearing is not held within forty-eight hours when the delay is caused by circumstances in which the defendant refuses to attend court, is unable to attend court due to drug or alcohol use, a serious medical or behavioral health emergency, or when the delay is caused by an emergency that requires the court to close. When the defendant is unable to attend court, the sheriff shall provide the court with a list of people subject to this section who did not timely attend court, the date of the person's arrest, and the location where the person is in custody. The sheriff shall document the length of the delay, the reason for the delay, and the efforts to abate the emergency. As soon as the emergency has sufficiently abated, the sheriff shall make the in-custody defendant available to appear before the municipal court at the next scheduled bond hearing. Use of audiovisual conferencing technology is permissible to expedite the hearing. When high-speed internet access is unavailable, making audiovisual conferencing impossible, the court may conduct the hearing telephonically.
(3)
(a)
At the hearing required in subsection (2) of this section, the municipal court shall either:
(I)
Arraign the defendant; or
(II)
If the defendant was arrested for failure to appear, conduct the proceedings for which the defendant failed to appear, unless that proceeding is a trial or an evidentiary hearing or requires the presence of a witness.
(b)
If the case is not resolved at this hearing, the municipal court shall immediately conduct a bond hearing to consider and set the least restrictive conditions, if any, for the defendant's release on bond.
(4)
If the defendant does not appear before the municipal court for a hearing within the time frames required by subsection (2) of this section, the jail holding the defendant shall release the defendant on an unsecured personal recognizance bond with no other conditions returnable to the municipal court. This subsection (4) does not apply if the defendant refused to cooperate with the court's attempts to hold the hearing in compliance with subsection (2) of this section.
(5)
Each municipal court shall adopt standing orders to implement subsection (4) of this section and shall provide the orders to each jail in the county where the municipal court is located. In every arrest warrant issued by a municipal court, the municipal court shall order that the defendant be released on a personal recognizance bond with no other conditions if the defendant does not appear before the municipal court for a hearing within the time frames required by subsection (2) of this section.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 92,§ 2, eff. 10/1/2023.
Amended by 2022 Ch. 264, §1, eff. 1/1/2023.
Added by 2017 Ch. 375, §2, eff. 1/1/2018.
L. 2017: Entire section added, (HB 17-1338), ch. 375, p. 1939, § 2, effective 1/1/2018.
For the legislative declaration in HB 17-1338, see section 1 of chapter 375, Session Laws of Colorado 2017.