2021 Colorado Code
Title 13 - Courts and Court Procedure
Article 17.5 - Costs - Attorney Fees - Inmate Lawsuits
§ 13-17.5-102.7. Successive Claims

1. No inmate who on three or more occasions has brought a civil action based upon prison conditions that has been dismissed on the grounds that it was frivolous, groundless, or malicious or failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted or sought monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief, shall be permitted to proceed as a poor person in a civil action based upon prison conditions under any statute or constitutional provision.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, an inmate may proceed as a poor person in a civil action if the judge finds that the action alleges sufficient facts which, if assumed to be true, would demonstrate that the inmate is in imminent danger of serious physical injury.
3. 1. .
   2. The attorney general shall inform the state judicial department or the chief judge of each judicial district whenever the attorney general becomes aware that an inmate has been assessed three or more dismissals as described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (3). Each judicial district shall maintain a registry of such information. An inmate listed in the registry who brings a civil action shall be subject to the provisions of subsections (1) and (2) of this section.

History. Source: L. 98: Entire section added, p. 247, § 2, effective April 13. L. 2001: Entire section amended, p. 289, § 2, effective July 1.

This section does not violate an inmate's right to access the courts as guaranteed by the United States Constitution. Farmer v. Raemisch, 2014 COA 3 , 320 P.3d 394.

Proceeding in forma pauperis in a civil case is a privilege, not a right, fundamental or otherwise. Farmer v. Raemisch, 2014 COA 3 , 320 P.3d 394.

The three-strike rule does not prohibit an inmate from filing suit; it merely prohibits an inmate from doing so without paying the filing fee that all civil plaintiffs must pay. Farmer v. Raemisch, 2014 COA 3 , 320 P.3d 394.

The right of access to the courts does not guarantee anyone a right of access in all circumstances. Farmer v. Raemisch, 2014 COA 3 , 320 P.3d 394.

Congress is no more compelled to guarantee free access to federal courts than it is to provide unlimited access to them; thus, imposition of a modest filing fee on prisoners is reasonable. Farmer v. Raemisch, 2014 COA 3 , 320 P.3d 394.

Dismissal of a complaint for at least one reason expressly identified by this section qualifies as a dismissal under this section. Farmer v. Raemisch, 2014 COA 3 , 320 P.3d 394.

The avenue for challenging dismissals under this section is direct appeal, not collateral attack. Allowing collateral attacks would greatly expand the litigation, in direct contravention of the general assembly's stated goal to reduce prisoner litigation. Farmer v. Raemisch, 2014 COA 3 , 320 P.3d 394.

A lawsuit brought and subject to the “three strikes” provision of this section does not have to be based solely on prison conditions. It is enough that the civil action is based in part on prison conditions for the three strikes provision to apply. Rueb v. Rich-Fredericks, 2020 COA 168 , __ P.3d __.