State Supreme Courts Resource

6 Democrats, 1 Republican

• COLO. CONST. Art. II, Section 20. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted (identical to the Eighth Amendment).

• Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-21-131(1): A “peace officer” acting under color of law is liable for depriving an individual of rights secured by the bill of rights, article II of the state constitution.
  • Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 24-31-901(3): A “peace officer” is “any person employed by a political subdivision of the state required to be certified by the P.O.S.T. board pursuant to section 16-2.5-102, a Colorado state patrol officer as described in section 16-2.5-114, and any noncertified deputy sheriff as described in section 16-2.5-103(2).”
• Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-21-131(2): Statutory immunities and statutory limitations on liability, damages, or attorneys’ fees do not apply; qualified immunity is not a defense to liability.
• Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-21-131(3): Attorneys’ fees and costs available to plaintiffs; attorneys’ fees and costs also available to defendants if claims were frivolous.
• Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-21-131(4): Employer shall indemnify peace officers except if the “peace officer’s employer determines on a case-by-case basis that the officer did not act upon a good faith and reasonable belief that the action was lawful” in which case “the peace officer is personally liable and shall not be indemnified by the peace officer’s employer for five percent of the judgment or settlement or twenty-five thousand dollars, whichever is less.” Indemnification not required if “the peace officer was convicted of a criminal violation for the conduct from which the claim arises unless the peace officer’s employer was a causal factor in the violation, through its action or inaction.” If judgment is uncollectible from the peace officer, “the peace officer’s employer or insurance shall satisfy the full amount of the judgment or settlement;”
• Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-21-131(5): Plaintiff must file suit within two years of the cause of action accruing.

• COLO. REV. STAT. §§ 13-17.5-101 to -108: Preliminary matters may be determined by magistrates; sanctions permitted against inmates who are allowed to file claims against public defendants and whose claims are frivolous; exhaustion of administrative remedies required; inmate not permitted to proceed “as a poor person” in a prison conditions case if three or more claims have been dismissed on the grounds that they were frivolous, groundless, malicious, failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or sought monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief unless the inmate is in imminent danger of serious physical injury; any inmate permitted to proceed “as a poor person” must pay the full filing fee in installments; attorneys’ fees shall not be awarded to an inmate except in limited circumstances; the court may enter judgment against an inmate who has been allowed to proceed “as a poor person” for court costs and fees in certain circumstances; compensatory damage awarded to an inmate shall be used to pay outstanding court-ordered payments against the inmate (including restitution and child support) before being forwarded to the inmate.
• COLO. REV. STAT. §17-20-114.5: Specified privileges (including television, radios, and access to snacks) shall be denied for a period not to exceed one hundred twenty days if, upon motion of any party or the court itself, a court finds the prisoner’s action “lacked substantial justification, was baseless, or was malicious or that the action, or any part thereof, was interposed for harassment.”

• Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 24-10-101 et seq): The state and public entities are immune from liability in claims for injury which lie in tort or could lie in tort except in limited circumstances; any judgment against a public entity shall constitute a complete bar to an action, by reason of the same subject matter, against a public employee whose act or omission gave rise to the claim and vice versa; limitations on the amount that may be recovered from public entities and public employees; limitations on attorneys’ fees; limitations on recovery for actions against public employees that lie in tort or could lie in tort unless the act or omission was “willful and wanton.”
• The Colorado Governmental Immunity Act does not apply to claims brought pursuant to Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-21-131. For claims brought under this provision, statutory immunities and statutory limitations on liability, damages, or attorneys’ fees do not apply, and qualified immunity is not a defense to liability.

• HB 17-1329 re juveniles: Established a pilot program to test the efficacy of a therapeutic, group-treatment approach and the ability of the division to keep youths and staff safe without the use of seclusion and mechanical restraints other than handcuffs. The provision establishing the pilot program was repealed effective July 1, 2021.
• HB 16-1328 limits and regulates the use of restraint and seclusion; establishes documentation requirements for use of restraint and seclusion; establishes a youth seclusion working group to monitor the Division of Youth Corrections’ use of confinement for administrative purposes.