Taggart Howard has represented many people charged with Domestic Violence in Colorado over the years. In Colorado, domestic violence is defined as “an act or threatened act of violence upon a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship.”
Domestic violence (DV) in Colorado is not treated as an independent crime. Rather, DV is a sentencing enhancement or aggravator. It increases the punishment for any offense committed against current or former spouses or dating partners.
Colorado is a mandatory arrest state. This means police must arrest anyone they have probable cause to believe committed domestic violence. It does not matter if the alleged victim:
- recants or
- doesn’t want to press charges.
While DV charges are pending, defendants will have a protection order taken out against them.
Crimes that commonly include the domestic violence enhancement are:
- Assault, C.R.S. 18-3-202 through 18-3-204
- Stalking, C.R.S. 18-3-602
- Harassment, C.R.S. 18-9-111
- Child Abuse, C.R.S. 18-6-401
- Menacing, C.R.S. 18-3-206
- False Imprisonment, C.R.S. 18-3-303
- Menacing, C.R.S. 18-3-206
- False Imprisonment, C.R.S. 18-3-303
- Violating a Protection Order, C.R.S. 18-6-803.5
But the domestic violence case enhancement can apply to any criminal charge or municipal ordinance violation. Even crimes against pets or property.
Sentencing on a Domestic Violence Case:
As mentioned above, Domestic Violence is not an independent crime. It is a sentencing enhancer and basically means that, if convicted, you will have to get a DV evaluation and follow the recommendation. The old rule was 36 weeks of treatment for everyone; now there is a committee that evaluates each person separately to determine if you need low intensity, medium intensity or max intensity treatment. Middle level is usually around 36 weeks. For more information: https://cdpsdocs.state.co.us/dcj/DCJ%20External%20Website/DVOMB/Standards/DVOMB%20Standards.pdf
