2016 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 18 - Criminal Code
Article 1.3 - Sentencing in Criminal Cases
Part 3 - Community Corrections and Specialized Restitution and Community Service Programs
§ 18-1.3-303. Sentencing order - collateral relief - definitions

(1) At the time of sentencing, upon the request of the defendant or upon the court's own motion, a court may enter an order of collateral relief if the court sentences the defendant to a community corrections program for the purpose of preserving or enhancing the defendant's employment or employment prospects and to improve the defendant's likelihood of success on probation or in the community corrections program.

(2) Application contents. (a) An application for an order of collateral relief must cite the grounds for granting the relief, the type of relief sought, and the specific collateral consequence from which the applicant is seeking relief and must include a copy of a recent Colorado bureau of investigation fingerprint-based criminal history records check. The state court administrator may produce an application form that an applicant may submit in application.

(b) The applicant shall provide a copy of the application to the district attorney and to the regulatory or licensing body that has jurisdiction over the collateral consequence from which the applicant is seeking relief, if any, by certified mail or personal service within ten days after filing the application with the court.

(3) An order of collateral relief may relieve a defendant of any collateral consequences of the conviction, whether in housing or employment barriers or any other sanction or disqualification that the court shall specify, including but not limited to statutory, regulatory, or other collateral consequences that the court may see fit to relieve that will assist the defendant in successfully completing probation or a community corrections sentence.

(4) (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an order of collateral relief cannot relieve any collateral consequences imposed by law for licensure by the department of education or any collateral consequences imposed by law for employment with the judicial branch, the department of corrections, division of youth corrections in the department of human services, or any other law enforcement agency in the state of Colorado.

(b) A court shall not issue an order of collateral relief if the defendant:

(I) Has been convicted of a felony that included an element that requires a victim to suffer permanent disability;

(II) Has been convicted of a crime of violence as described in section 18-1.3-406; or

(III) Is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to section 16-22-103, C.R.S.

(5) Hearing. (a) The court may conduct a hearing or include a hearing on the matter at the defendant's sentencing hearing on the application or on any matter relevant to the granting or denying of the application and may take testimony under oath.

(b) The court may hear testimony from victims or any proponent or opponent of the application and may hear argument from the petitioner and the district attorney.

(6) Standard for granting relief. (a) A court may issue an order of collateral relief if the court finds that:

(I) The order of collateral relief is consistent with the applicant's rehabilitation; and

(II) Granting the application would improve the applicant's likelihood of success in reintegrating into society and is in the public's interest.

(b) The court that previously issued an order of collateral relief, on its own motion or either by cause shown by the district attorney or on grounds offered by the applicant, may at any time issue a subsequent judgment to enlarge, limit, or circumscribe the relief previously granted.

(c) Upon the motion of the district attorney or probation officer or upon the court's own motion, a court may revoke an order of collateral relief upon evidence of a subsequent criminal conviction or proof that the defendant is no longer entitled to relief. Any bars, prohibitions, sanctions, and disqualifications thereby relieved shall be reinstated as of the date of the written order of revocation. The court shall provide a copy of the order of revocation to the holder and to any regulatory or licensing entity that the defendant noticed in his or her motion for relief.

(7) If the court issues an order of collateral relief, it shall send a copy of the order of collateral relief through the Colorado integrated criminal justice information system to the Colorado bureau of investigation, and the Colorado bureau of investigation shall note in the applicant's record in the Colorado crime information center that the order of collateral relief was issued.

(8) Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Collateral consequence" means a collateral sanction or a disqualification.

(b) "Collateral sanction" means a penalty, prohibition, bar, or disadvantage, however denominated, imposed on an individual as a result of the individual's conviction of an offense, which penalty, prohibition, bar, or disadvantage applies by operation of law regardless of whether the penalty, prohibition, bar, or disadvantage is included in the judgment or sentence. "Collateral sanction" does not include imprisonment, probation, parole, supervised release, forfeiture, restitution, fine, assessment, costs of prosecution, or a restraint or sanction on an individual's driving privilege.

(c) "Conviction" or "convicted" means a verdict of guilty by a judge or jury or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere that is accepted by the court or a conviction of a crime under the laws of any other state, the United States, or any territory subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, which, if committed within this state, would be a felony or misdemeanor. "Conviction" or "convicted" also includes having received a deferred judgment and sentence; except that a person shall not be deemed to have been convicted if the person has successfully completed a deferred sentence.

(d) "Disqualification" means a penalty, prohibition, bar, or disadvantage, however denominated, that an administrative agency, governmental official, or court in a civil proceeding is authorized, but not required, to impose on an individual on grounds relating to the individual's conviction of an offense.