Colorado Domestic Violence Laws

Statutes

• Colorado Code §18-6-800.3 (Domestic Violence/Intimate Relationship Violence)

Penalties

Penalties and Sentencing

If a person commits a crime of domestic violence, many aspects of his or her sentencing will be affected, including the following:

• Domestic Violence Treatment Programs– The person will be ordered to complete a domestic violence treatment program or evaluation, if not sentenced to prison.
• House Arrest– Although house arrest or home detention with an electronic monitor is often available, it’s not a sentencing option for domestic violence related cases, if the home is the same as the victim’s house.
• Probation– The court has to consider the safety of the victim and any children before probation is granted.
• Prior Convictions– If a defendant has been previously convicted of a domestic violence related crime three times or more, than even if the crime committed this time is a misdemeanor, the person can be charged as a “habitual domestic violence offender” and convicted of a Class 5 Felony. Class 5 felonies are presumptively, which can be doubled if the offense is a "crime of violence" (such as sexual offenses and some assaults) to 2-6 years.
• Guns– An offender who commits a domestic violence crime that’s a misdemeanor or that can be punished by more than a year will not be able to buy or possess any guns or ammunition. Also, while a person is restrained by a protection order from contacting a particular person, he or she can’t buy or own guns. The defendant can sell or give the gun to someone else, or arrange to store the gun (generally for a fee) with a law enforcement agency or licensed firearms dealer until gun rights are restored.

Protection Orders

• A protection order is a legal document that requires your abuser to stay away from you, and sometimes your children or new partner, your school, or your workplace. If an abuser violates a protection order, he or she can be arrested and may be found guilty of the crime of violating the order.