Colorado v. Rau
Annotate this CaseColorado’s "Make My Day" law, section 18-1-704.5, C.R.S. (2021), addressed the justified use of force against intruders in the home. "But the nickname is a misnomer." Though wide-ranging, the statute’s safe harbor in no way permitted an occupant of a dwelling to egg on intruders to do something so as to have an excuse to shoot them. As pertinent here, the statute provided immunity from criminal prosecution for the use of physical force (including deadly physical force) against an intruder when certain specified conditions are met. The issue this case presented for the Colorado Supreme Court's review was whether defendant Patrick Rau was in a dwelling when he shot and killed an intruder in the basement of a house where he and his girlfriend rented an apartment. A division of the court of appeals concluded that the basement, which was accessible to all of the building’s tenants and contained the building’s heat and water controls, was part of Rau’s dwelling, therefore, affirming the district court’s ruling that Rau was immune from prosecution for using deadly physical force against the intruder. Relying on the definition of “dwelling” in section 18-1-901(3)(g), C.R.S. (2021), the Supreme Court held that the basement was part of Rau’s dwelling because it was part of the building that he used for habitation. "And just as some of the usual uses of the garage in [Colorado v. Jiminez, 651 P.2d 395, 396 (Colo. 1982)] were incidental to and part of the use of the residence itself, some of the usual uses of the basement in this case were likewise incidental to and part of the use of Rau’s residence. Accordingly, we affirm the division."
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.