In re Colorado v. Rowell
Annotate this CaseThe relevant charges at issue here were class 4, 5, and 6 felonies that did not carry mandatory sentencing, were not crimes of violence pursuant to section 18-1.3-406, C.R.S. (2019), and were not sexual offenses. It was undisputed that defendant James Rowell was initially ineligible to receive a preliminary hearing on the relevant charges because he posted bond in both cases. The issue before the Colorado Supreme Court was whether the district court erred in denying Rowell's request for a preliminary hearing on one of the two felony charges in case number 18CR1611, and on all five felony charges in case number 19CR15, when he later found himself in custody in both cases because his bonds were revoked. The Supreme Court found that because Rowell was taken into custody on the relevant charges when his bonds were revoked, he was entitled to demand a preliminary hearing on those charges "within a reasonable time." Rowell did not become eligible to demand a preliminary hearing on the relevant charges until months after he was brought before the court for the filing of the information. Inasmuch as Crim. P. Rule 7(h)(1) was silent on the timeframe within which Rowell was required to demand a preliminary hearing on the relevant charges after his bonds were revoked, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the district court to determine whether his demand was made “within a reasonable time” after he became statutorily eligible to advance it.
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