Opinion ID: 2630189
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Pro Se Defendant's Ability to Enter a DJS

Text: Loveall argues that his plea of guilty to the enticement charge is void for lack of jurisdiction because a court may order a DJS only if the defendant is represented by legal counsel. § 18-1.3-102, C.R.S. (2009). To succeed, Loveall must circumvent the three-year statute of limitations for collateral attacks, § 16-5-402(1), C.R.S. (2009), by treading an alternate path, § 16-5-402(2)(a) (describing the subject matter jurisdiction exception). We deny him passage. We have held that a district court has jurisdiction if the case is one of the type of cases that the court has been empowered to entertain by the sovereign from which the court derives its authority. Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis, Inc. v. Adams, 718 P.2d 508, 513 (Colo.1986). The Colorado Constitution provides that district courts, as the trial courts of general jurisdiction, possess original, state-wide jurisdiction in all criminal cases. Colo. Const. art. VI, § 9(1). Of course, the courts' otherwise unrestricted and sweeping jurisdictional powers remain subject to legislative restraints and enactments. In re A.W., 637 P.2d 366, 373 (Colo. 1981). Accordingly, we have held that a district court exceeds its jurisdiction when it acts without general jurisdiction but also when it acts with general jurisdiction but contrary to statute. People v. Carbajal, 198 P.3d 102, 105 (Colo.2008); People v. Simonds, 113 P.3d 762, 763 (Colo.2005) (holding district court did not exceed its jurisdiction by revoking DJS where application seeking revocation was filed within time permitted by statute). In this respect, our longstanding practice has been to avoid interpreting statutory language as a limit on a court's power unless the limitation is explicit. In re Estate of Ongaro, 998 P.2d 1097, 1103 (Colo. 2000) (quoting In re A.W., 637 P.2d at 374). Where the statute contains explicit limiting language, we consider whether or to what extent the legislature could divest the district courts of jurisdiction. In re Estate of Ongaro, 998 P.2d at 1103. We apply this analytic framework to section 18-1.3-102. Subsection (1) reads, In any case in which the defendant has entered a plea of guilty, the court accepting the plea has the power, with the written consent of the defendant and his or her attorney of record and the district attorney, to continue the case for a period not to exceed four years of the date of entry of a plea to a felony.... (Emphasis added). Subsection (2) uses similar language, Prior to entry of a plea of guilty to be followed by a[DJS], the district attorney... is authorized to enter into a written stipulation, to be signed by the defendant, the defendant's attorney of record, and the district attorney, under which the defendant is obligated to adhere to such stipulation. (Emphasis added). We conclude that neither subsection expressly limits the district court's power to entertain a category of cases. See Adams, 718 P.2d at 513; In re Estate of Ongaro, 998 P.2d at 1103. Rather, they merely underscore the fact that a DJS, in the first instance, requires the written consent of the parties and their counsel of record. § 18-1.3-102(2). While it is true that the district court cannot enter a DJS without a duly-signed stipulation, its inability to act is not due to a lack of jurisdiction but to the fact that, without a signed stipulation, there is literally nothing upon which the court may act. [7] Because the written authorization requirement set forth in section 18-1.3-102 is not jurisdictional in nature, we hold that Loveall's collateral attack is untimely. See § 16-5-402.