Domestic Violence Charges in Colorado

Domestic Violence Is a Label, Not a Standalone Charge

Colorado has no crime called domestic violence. Instead, the law treats domestic violence as an enhancer, a label attached to some other charge, such as assault, harassment, or criminal mischief. Under C.R.S. 18-6-800.3, domestic violence means an act or threatened act of violence against someone the accused is or was in an intimate relationship with. It also covers any other crime, including crimes against property or an animal, when the crime is used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge against a current or former intimate partner.

That definition is broad on purpose. Breaking a phone, keying a car, or threatening a pet can all carry the domestic violence label if the alleged motive fits.

What counts as an intimate relationship? The statute defines it as spouses, former spouses, past or present unmarried couples, and people who share a child, whether or not they ever married or lived together. A dating relationship can qualify. Roommates, siblings, and friends, standing alone, do not.

Because domestic violence is an enhancer, the underlying charge sets the basic sentencing range. The label then adds its own mandatory consequences on top. As of this writing, common examples look like this:

Every case is different, and a judge has options other than jail, including probation. But the label itself brings requirements that no judge can waive, which the sections below explain.

Mandatory Arrest: Why Someone Almost Always Goes to Jail

Colorado is a mandatory arrest state. Under C.R.S. 18-6-803.6, when an officer has probable cause to believe a crime involving domestic violence occurred, the officer shall arrest the suspected person without undue delay. Probable cause is a low bar. It does not require an injury, a confession, or a cooperative alleged victim.

That single word, shall, removes the officer's discretion. There is no warning, no cooling off period, and no option to let everyone sleep it off. If both people show signs of a struggle, officers are trained to identify the person they believe was the predominant aggressor rather than arrest both parties.

Two points surprise almost everyone we talk to:

• The alleged victim cannot stop the arrest. Once police are called, the decision is out of their hands.
• The alleged victim cannot drop the charges later. The district attorney, not the person named in the report, controls whether the case goes forward. A recantation does not automatically end a prosecution.

After a domestic violence arrest, the accused person is typically held until they can appear before a judge, because release on bond requires accepting the protection order described next.

The Mandatory Protection Order Can Bar You From Your Own Home

In every Colorado criminal case involving domestic violence, the court enters a mandatory protection order under C.R.S. 18-1-1001. It begins at the first court appearance and stays in place until the case fully ends. Agreeing to its terms is a condition of release on bond.

The order typically forbids any contact with the alleged victim. No calls, no texts, no messages passed through friends or family, no comments on social media. On top of that, the court may order the accused to vacate the home and stay away from the other person's home, work, and school. That can mean being barred from your own house, even if your name is on the deed or the lease, and even if the other person wants you home.

Three things to understand about this order:

• Only a judge can change it. The protected person cannot lift it by asking, forgiving, or inviting contact. If the two of you talk and someone reports it, the accused person is the one who gets charged.
• Violating it is a new crime. Violation of a protection order is a separate offense under C.R.S. 18-6-803.5, and a violation can also revoke bond.
• It can be modified. The defense can file a motion asking the court to relax the order, for example to allow the accused to return home or to permit contact about children. Judges decide these requests case by case.

Getting the protection order addressed early is often the most urgent piece of a domestic violence case, because it controls where you sleep and whether you see your kids while the case is pending.

The No Plea Bargain Rule and Required Treatment

Colorado law makes the domestic violence label hard to remove. Under C.R.S. 18-6-801(3), a court cannot accept a guilty plea to a charge without the domestic violence designation when the facts of the case include an act of domestic violence, unless the prosecutor represents in good faith that the original charge could not be proven at trial. In plain terms, prosecutors cannot simply bargain the label away as a courtesy. It comes off only when the evidence does not support it.

If a person is convicted of a crime with a domestic violence factual basis, C.R.S. 18-6-801 requires the court to order a treatment evaluation and completion of a treatment program. The evaluation determines the level and length of treatment, and the program must meet standards set by Colorado's Domestic Violence Offender Management Board. This is not optional, and it applies even when the sentence is probation with no jail time. Treatment is at the defendant's expense, usually runs for months of weekly sessions, and failing to complete it can mean a probation violation.

Because the label is so sticky and its consequences so fixed, the important work in these cases happens early: examining the evidence, the statements, and the arrest itself before decisions get locked in.

Firearms and the Habitual Offender Law

Firearms consequences are immediate and can be permanent. While the case is pending, the mandatory protection order commonly restricts possessing firearms. If the case ends in a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, C.R.S. 18-6-801(8) requires the court to order the defendant to relinquish firearms and ammunition, by selling or transferring them to a licensed dealer or private party who may lawfully possess them, or by storing them with law enforcement. The court then holds a compliance hearing, generally within eight to twelve business days, to confirm it happened.

Federal law reaches further. Under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9), a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence makes it a federal felony to possess a firearm or ammunition anywhere in the country. As of this writing, that federal ban has no expiration date for convictions involving spouses, cohabitants, or co-parents. For many clients, this is the consequence that matters most, especially for anyone whose job involves carrying a weapon.

The habitual domestic violence offender law raises the stakes with each case. Under C.R.S. 18-6-801(7), a misdemeanor offense that includes an act of domestic violence becomes a class 5 felony if the person has three or more prior convictions that included domestic violence, from separate cases. As of this writing, a class 5 felony carries one to three years in state prison plus two years of mandatory parole. Prior convictions count even if they came from municipal court or another state.

If you or someone you love has been arrested on a domestic violence charge, reach out to us early. The sooner we can look at the case, the more options stay open.