2017 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 18 - Criminal Code
Article 1.3 - Sentencing in Criminal Cases
Part 5 - Misdemeanor and Petty Offense Sentencing
§ 18-1.3-506. Payment and collection of fines for class 1, 2, or 3 misdemeanors and class 1 or 2 petty offenses - release from incarceration

(1) Whenever the court imposes a fine for a nonviolent class 1, 2, or 3 misdemeanor or for a class 1 or 2 petty offense, if the person who committed the offense is unable to pay the fine at the time of the court hearing or if he or she fails to pay any fine imposed for the commission of such offense, in order to guarantee the payment of such fine, the court may:

(a) Require the person to post sufficient bond or collateral; or

(b) Enter a judgment in favor of the state or political subdivision to whom the fine is owed and enter an order based on such judgment for the garnishment of the person's earnings in accordance with the provisions of either article 54 or 54.5 of title 13, C.R.S., for the purpose of collecting said fine and the costs incurred in collecting said fine; or

(c) Enter a judgment in favor of the state or political subdivision to whom the fine is owed and execute a lien based on such judgment on any chattels, lands, tenements, moneys, and real estate of the person in accordance with article 52 of title 13, C.R.S., for the purpose of collecting said fine and the costs incurred in collecting said fine.

(2) The state or a political subdivision may appear before a court of record in this state and request that the court order the release from a county jail or a correctional facility of a person who has been incarcerated as a result of the failure to pay a fine or the failure to appear in court in connection with the commission of a nonviolent class 1, 2, or 3 misdemeanor or a class 1 or 2 petty offense upon the condition that the fine and any costs of collection are collected from the person incarcerated by the use of one of the methods set forth in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) For the purposes of this section, "nonviolent class 1, 2, or 3 misdemeanor" means a class 1, 2, or 3 misdemeanor that does not involve cruelty to an animal, as described in section 18-9-202 (1)(a), or the use or threat of physical force on or to a person in the commission of the misdemeanor.