2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 14 - DOMESTIC MATTERS (§§ 14-1-101 — 14-15-119) › DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE - PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES (§§ 14-10-101 — 14-13.7-504) › Article 13 - UNIFORM CHILD-CUSTODY JURISDICTION AND ENFORCEMENT ACT (§§ 14-13-101 — 14-13-403) › Part 2 - JURISDICTION (§§ 14-13-201 — 14-13-210) › Section 14-13-204 - Temporary emergency jurisdiction

(1)
A court of this state has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this state and the child has been abandoned or it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse. A court of this state may exercise temporary emergency jurisdiction during the pendency of an appeal of a child-custody determination.
(2)
If there is no previous child-custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this article and a child-custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under a provision of law adopted by that state that is in substantial conformity with sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
, a child-custody determination made under this section remains in effect until an order is obtained from a court of a state having jurisdiction under a provision of law adopted by that state that is in substantial conformity with sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
. If a child-custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under a provision of law adopted by that state that is in substantial conformity with sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
, a child-custody determination made under this section becomes a final determination, if it so provides and this state becomes the home state of the child.
(3)
If there is a previous child-custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this article, or a child-custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under a provision of law adopted by that state that is in substantial conformity with sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
, any order issued by a court of this state under this section must specify in the order a period that the court considers adequate to allow the person seeking an order to obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction under a provision of law adopted by that state that is in substantial conformity with sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
. The order issued in this state remains in effect until an order is obtained from the other state within the period specified or the period expires.
(4)
A court of this state that has been asked to make a child-custody determination under this section, upon being informed that a child-custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child-custody determination has been made by, a court of a state having jurisdiction under a provision of law adopted by that state that is in substantial conformity with sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
, shall immediately communicate with the other court. A court of this state that is exercising jurisdiction pursuant to sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
, upon being informed that a child-custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child-custody determination has been made by, a court of another state under a statute similar to this section shall immediately communicate with the court of that state to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration of the temporary order.
Amended by 2021 Ch. 116,§5, eff. 5/7/2021.
L. 2000: Entire article R&RE, p. 1525, § 1, effective July 1.
(1) This section is similar to former § 14-13-104 as it existed prior to 2000.
(2) Section 8 of chapter 116 (HB 21-1031), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act changing this section applies to any request to modify an order appealed on, after, or before May 7, 2021.
OFFICIAL COMMENT
The provisions of this section are an elaboration of what was formerly Section 3(a)(3) of the UCCJA. It remains, as Professor Bodenheimer's comments to that section noted, "an extraordinary jurisdiction reserved for extraordinary circumstances."
This section codifies and clarifies several aspects of what has become common practice in emergency jurisdiction cases under the UCCJA and PKPA. First, a court may take jurisdiction to protect the child even though it can claim neither home State nor significant connection jurisdiction. Second, the duties of States to recognize, enforce and not modify a custody determination of another State do not take precedence over the need to enter a temporary emergency order to protect the child.
Third, a custody determination made under the emergency jurisdiction provisions of this section is a temporary order. The purpose of the order is to protect the child until the State that has jurisdiction under Sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
enters an order.
Under certain circumstances, however, subsection (2) provides that an emergency custody determination may become a final custody determination. If there is no existing custody determination, and no custody proceeding is filed in a State with jurisdiction under Sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
, an emergency custody determination made under this section becomes a final determination, if it so provides, when the State that issues the order becomes the home State of the child.
Subsection (3) is concerned with the temporary nature of the order when there exists a prior custody order that is entitled to be enforced under this Act or when a subsequent custody proceeding is filed in a State with jurisdiction under Sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
. Subsection (3) allows the temporary order to remain in effect only so long as is necessary for the person who obtained the determination under this section to present a case and obtain an order from the State with jurisdiction under Sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
. That time period must be specified in the order. If there is an existing order by a State with jurisdiction under Sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
, that order need not be reconfirmed. The temporary emergency determination would lapse by its own terms at the end of the specified period or when an order is obtained from the court with jurisdiction under Sections
14-13-202
to
14-13-203
. The court with appropriate jurisdiction also may decide, under the provisions of 207, that the court that entered the emergency order is in a better position to address the safety of the person who obtained the emergency order, or the child, and decline jurisdiction under Section
14-13-207
.
Any hearing in the State with jurisdiction under Sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
on the temporary emergency determination is subject to the provisions of Sections
14-13-111
and
14-13-112
. These sections facilitate the presentation of testimony and evidence taken out of State. If there is a concern that the person obtaining the temporary emergency determination under this section would be in danger upon returning to the State with jurisdiction under Sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
, these provisions should be used.
Subsection (4) requires communication between the court of the State that is exercising jurisdiction under this section and the court of another State that is exercising jurisdiction under Sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
. The pleading rules of Section
14-13-209
apply fully to determinations made under this section. Therefore, a person seeking a temporary emergency custody determination is required to inform the court pursuant to Section
14-13-209(4)
of any proceeding concerning the child that has been commenced elsewhere. The person commencing the custody proceeding under Sections
14-13-201
to
14-13-203
is required under Section
14-13-209(1)
to inform the court about the temporary emergency proceeding. These pleading requirements are to be strictly followed so that the courts are able to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration of the temporary order.
Relationship to the PKPA.
The definition of emergency has been modified to harmonize it with the PKPA. The PKPA's definition of emergency jurisdiction does not use the term "neglect." It defines an emergency as "mistreatment or abuse." Therefore "neglect" has been eliminated as a basis for the assumption of temporary emergency jurisdiction. Neglect is so elastic a concept that it could justify taking emergency jurisdiction in a wide variety of cases. Under the PKPA, if a State exercised temporary emergency jurisdiction based on a finding that the child was neglected without a finding of mistreatment or abuse, the order would not be entitled to federal enforcement in other States.
Relationship to Protective Order Proceedings.
The UCCJA and the PKPA were enacted long before the advent of state procedures on the use of protective orders to alleviate problems of domestic violence. Issues of custody and visitation often arise within the context of protective order proceedings since the protective order is often invoked to keep one parent away from the other parent and the children when there is a threat of violence. This Act recognizes that a protective order proceeding will often be the procedural vehicle for invoking jurisdiction by authorizing a court to assume temporary emergency jurisdiction when the child's parent or sibling has been subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse.
In order for a protective order that contains a custody determination to be enforceable in another State it must comply with the provisions of this Act and the PKPA. Although the Violence Against Women's Act (VAWA),
18 U.S.C. §2265
, does provide an independent basis for the granting of full faith and credit to protective orders, it expressly excludes "custody" orders from the definition of "protective order," 22 U.S.C. § 2266.
Many States authorize the issuance of protective orders in an emergency without notice and hearing. This Act does not address the propriety of that procedure. It is left to local law to determine the circumstances under which such an order could be issued, and the type of notice that is required, in a case without an interstate element. However, an order issued after the assumption of temporary emergency jurisdiction is entitled to interstate enforcement and nonmodification under this Act and the PKPA only if there has been notice and a reasonable opportunity to be heard as set out in Section
14-13-205
. Although VAWA does require that full faith and credit be accorded to ex parte protective orders if notice will be given and there will be a reasonable opportunity to be heard, it does not include a "custody" order within the definition of "protective order."
VAWA does play an important role in determining whether an emergency exists. That Act requires a court to give full faith and credit to a protective order issued in another State if the order is made in accordance with the VAWA. This would include those findings of fact contained in the order. When a court is deciding whether an emergency exists under this section, it may not relitigate the existence of those factual findings.
For the legislative declaration in HB 21-1031, see section 1 of chapter 116, Session Laws of Colorado 2021.