2020 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 13 - Courts And Court Procedure
Article 17.5. Costs - Attorney Fees - Inmate Lawsuits
Section 13-17.5-103. Filing fees.
(1) An inmate who seeks to proceed in any civil action without prepayment of fees, in addition to filing any required affidavit, shall submit a copy of the inmate's account statement for the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of the civil action, certified by an appropriate official at the detaining facility. If the inmate account demonstrates that the inmate has sufficient funds to pay the filing fee, or if the action on its face is frivolous, groundless, or malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief, the motion to proceed as a poor person shall be denied.
(2) Any inmate who is allowed to proceed in the civil action as a poor person shall be required to pay the full amount of the filing fee and service of process fees previously paid by the court in the following installments:
If the inmate has ten dollars or more in his or her inmate account, make an initialpartial payment in accordance with the order of the court; and
Regardless if the inmate has ten dollars in his or her inmate account at the time of thefiling of the civil action, make continuing monthly payments to the court equal to twenty percent of the preceding month's deposits in the inmate's account until the filing fee and service of process fees previously paid by the court are paid in full.
(2.5) The court shall include in its order granting permission to proceed as a poor person the requirement that the inmate comply with the provisions of subsection (2) of this section.
(2.7) A copy of any order granting an inmate's motion to proceed in a civil action as a poor person shall be forwarded by the court to the detaining facility that has custody of the inmate. Upon receipt of the order, the detaining facility shall forward payments from the inmate's account to the court in accordance with the order granting leave to proceed as a poor person.
(3) In no event shall an inmate be prohibited from filing a civil action or appealing a civil or criminal judgment because the inmate has no assets and no means by which to pay the initial partial payment.
Source: L. 95: Entire article added, p. 479, § 1, effective July 1. L. 98: Entire section amended, p. 248, § 4, effective April 13. L. 2001: Entire section amended, p. 290, § 3, effective July 1.
