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Staff Publications

Online Data Collection and Tracking Methods by Third Parties

This memorandum provides an overview of known online data collection and tracking methods often used by third parties, including data brokers. While the ecosystem of online data collection and tracking is vast, this memorandum primarily focuses on user side collection and tracking methods and briefly describes ongoing research regarding non-user-side third-party data tracking and brokerage.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement
  • Telecommunications & Information Technology

Staff Publications

Service and Assistance Animals

This memorandum provides information on service and assistance animals. Specifically, it explains the differences between each type of animal, how each type of animal can be verified, the rights granted to individuals accompanied by a service animal, and offenses related to the misrepresentation of service or assistance animals.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Civil Law
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement
  • Housing
  • Human Services

Staff Publications

Process for Sealing or Expunging Criminal Records

This memorandum provides an overview of the process in Colorado for removing criminal records from publicly available sources, known as the “sealing” or “expungement” of criminal records.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

Criminal Justice Reform Bills

This memorandum provides a listing of criminal justice reform legislation enacted in Colorado from 2015 through 2025. More specifically, the attached table provides the bill number, title, and description of the criminal justice reform legislation, organized by category.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

Construction Defect Laws and Issues

This memorandum provides information on Colorado's construction defect laws and the various issues surrounding construction defects in Colorado. It also provides data on housing trends in the state and offers a comparative view of construction defect civil laws in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Texas.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Civil Law
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement
  • Local Government

Staff Publications

Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System Summary Report

Summary report for the Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System. 

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement
  • General Assembly

Staff Publications

Colorado Department of Corrections and COVID-19

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted almost every aspect of society, including the criminal justice system, leaving crowded courts, prisons, and jails especially susceptible to the outbreak.  This memorandum provides an overview of how prisons in Colorado are reacting to this public health emergency.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement
  • Public Health

Staff Publications

Fines and Fees in Colorado’s Criminal Justice System

Individuals convicted of criminal offenses are typically required by the court to pay associated fines, fees, and surcharges.  This memorandum provides an overview of the fines and fees that are imposed upon a criminal conviction in Colorado, including those financial obligations that support supervision and incarceration.  The collection and distribution of funds is also covered.  

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

Community Corrections Response to COVID-19

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted almost every aspect of society, including the criminal justice system, leaving crowded courts, prisons and jails especially susceptible to the outbreak. This memorandum provides an overview of how Community Corrections is handling this public health emergency.  Please note that the COVID-19 situation is rapidly changing, and staff will be monitoring changes and making updates.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement
  • Public Health

Staff Publications

Colorado Juvenile Justice System Response to COVID-19

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted almost every aspect of society, including the criminal justice system, leaving crowded courts, prisons and jails especially susceptible to the outbreak.  This memorandum provides an overview of how the juvenile justice system in Colorado is handling this public health emergency.  Please note that the COVID-19 situation is rapidly changing, and staff will be monitoring changes and making updates.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Children & Domestic Matters
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement
  • Public Health

Staff Publications

Colorado Courts’ Response to COVID-19

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted almost every aspect of society, including the criminal justice system, leaving crowded courts, prisons and jails especially susceptible to the outbreak. This memorandum provides an overview of how courts in Colorado are handling this public health emergency.  Please note that the COVID-19 situation is rapidly changing, and staff will be monitoring changes and making updates.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement
  • Public Health

Staff Publications

Abuse of Corpse Crimes in Other States

This memorandum addresses abuse of corpse laws in the 50 states.  While the vast majority of states have enacted abuse of corpse or other related laws, they differ in definition and crime classification.  For example, some states outline penalties for mutilating or defacing a corpse, while others more broadly define it as “outraging family sensibilities.”  Over half of the states (27) have classified this crime as a felony instead of a misdemeanor. 

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

Statutes of Limitations

This memorandum provides an overview of statutes of limitations, including factors that impact length, such as statutes of repose and tolling.  The memorandum also includes tables listing the various criminal and civil statutes of limitations and statutes of repose in the state. 

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System Summary Report

Summary report for the Legislative Oversight Committee Concerning the Treatment of Persons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement
  • Human Services


Staff Publications

Jury Duty in Criminal Cases

This memorandum provides an overview of jury duty for criminal trials in Colorado, including how jurors are summoned, excused, selected, paid, and impaneled.  Jury deliberations, instructions, and verdicts are also covered.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

Post-Conviction Sex Offender Polygraph Testing for Adult Sex Offenders

This memorandum provides an overview of how post-conviction sex offender polygraph testing (PCSOT) is used for adult sex offenders in Colorado, as well as in other states.  It also includes a summary of current research on its effectiveness. 

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

State Laws Addressing Age of Sexual Consent

This memorandum provides an overview of state laws that address age of consent for sexual activity.  More specifically, it provides information about the age of sexual consent in Colorado and other states, including exemptions that allow a person below the age of consent to have lawful sex with an older person.  The memorandum further outlines the sexual abuse charges that are used to prosecute age of consent and sexual assault-related crimes within Colorado.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Children & Domestic Matters
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement


Staff Publications

Capital Construction Fact Sheet: Colorado Correctional Industries

This Fact Sheet provides detailed information on the Colorado Correctional Industries (CCi), a self-supporting division of the Department of Corrections (DOC), which oversees and manages prison work programs in the state. Established in 1977, CCi’s purpose, as defined in state law, includes providing employment to as many inmates as possible and training them with marketable skills to increase the likelihood of employment upon release. CCi is authorized to operate in a profit-oriented manner and may enter into joint venture agreements with private industry to buy and sell goods. 

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Capital Construction
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

Sentencing Scheme Comparsion

This memo compares Colorado’s felony sentencing laws with those of Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.  It provides an overview of determinate versus indeterminate sentencing schemes and incarceration rates.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

Crimes of Violence and Habitual Offender Sentencing Data

This memo explains enhanced sentencing requirements for two different criminal offense categories: crimes of violence and habitual offenders. It also provides sentencing data for offenders convicted of crimes of violence or as habitual offenders between 2014 and 2016.  During this three year period, 416 offenders were sentenced to the Department of Corrections (DOC) for crimes of violence and 150 were sentenced to the DOC as habitual offenders. Sentencing data for these offenders are shown by crime, felony classification, sentencing range, and county

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

Second Look Sentencing

This memorandum provides information concerning second look sentencing.  Second look sentencing refers to sentence modification that occurs while an offender is serving his or her term of incarceration.  This memorandum briefly describes second look sentencing and discusses the differences between it and other forms of sentence modification.  The memorandum then explains second look sentencing schemes for juveniles in other states, describing Oregon’s scheme in detail, as well as discussing a recently created Colorado program for juvenile offenders.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

Overview of Colorado's Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Scheme

This memorandum provides an overview of the mandatory minimum sentencing schemes in Colorado law.  It provides information on the general categories of offenses subject to enhanced prison sentences and specific crimes that require a mandatory minimum sentence. Three years of sentencing data are included to show the application of the sentencing schemes for each category of offense.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement

Staff Publications

Overview of Colorado's Sentencing Scheme

This memorandum provides an overview of the sentencing categories in state law for felony and misdemeanor offenses, including special offender sentencing.  The memorandum also explains the sentencing scheme for drug offenses and for habitual offenders.  There are two appendices that accompany this memorandum.  Appendix A provides a summary of sentencing legislation since 2010.  Appendix B lists the ranges for felony presumptive sentencing and special sentencing categories.

Release date:
Publishing Agency:
Legislative Council Staff
Subjects:
  • Courts & Judicial
  • Crimes, Corrections, & Enforcement