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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday that cities cannot punish lawbreakers beyond what state courts would allow for the same offense, a decision that could set precedent for hundreds of municipal courts around the state.
The justices ruled that when a municipal ordinance and a state statute prohibit identical conduct, the municipal penalties for such conduct “may not exceed the corresponding state penalties for that conduct.”
By imposing more stringent penalties for the same crimes, these cities “materially impede the state’s interest in ensuring that maximum penalties for non-felony offenses are consistent and uniform across Colorado,” the opinion stated.
In 2021, on the heels of nationwide protests for racial justice, Colorado lawmakers enacted sweeping state-level reforms that significantly lowered the potential penalties for misdemeanor and petty offenses in Colorado’s state courts. But those reforms didn’t impact municipal courts, which are not part of the state judicial system.
As a result, the potential jail sentences for minor crimes in city courts now often far outpace the state’s limits, The Denver Post reported last year. The newspaper found defendants across 10 of Colorado’s largest cities served, on average, five times more jail time in municipal court — though the difference was just a matter of days.
Officers have wide leeway to choose which box to check on their summons forms, The Post found. Police departments said they didn’t have specific policies outlining how arresting officers are supposed to decide between arresting someone on municipal or state charges.
Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez delivered the opinion, and was joined by Justices Brian D. Boatright, William W. Hood III, Richard L. Gabriel, Carlos A. Samour Jr. and Maria E. Berkenkotter. Justice Melissa Hart, who announced her retirement last week after being on leave since October, did not participate.
The ruling centered on two cases involving low-level prosecutions in Westminster and Aurora municipal courts in which the alleged offenders faced significantly more jail time after being charged in city court than they would have if charged in state court.
In 2022, Aleah Camp was charged with stealing less than $300 worth of goods from a Westminster store. The officer, by checking a single box on a criminal summons, sent the case to municipal court — where Camp faced a potential jail sentence 36 times longer and a fine almost nine times higher — 364 days and $2,650 vs. 10 days and $300 — than what would be allowed under state law.
In the other case, Danielle Simons was charged in 2023 with motor vehicle trespass in Aurora Municipal Court. As a result of the officer’s decision to pursue municipal rather than state charges, Simons similarly faced up to 364 days in jail and a $2,650 fine. If she had been charged with the same offense in state court, the maximum penalty would have been 120 days in jail and a $750 fine.
Simons’ and Camp’s attorneys argued the significant sentencing discrepancies in their cases violated their clients’ rights of equal protection under the Colorado Constitution.
The Supreme Court did not address the equal protection argument, instead ruling that the city ordinances are preempted by state law. The cities argued that, under home-rule provisions, they are allowed to create their own sentencing policies.
But the justices wrote that the court has consistently held that the regulation of non-felony criminal offenses is a matter of mixed local and statewide concern.
Municipalities can still punish offenders beyond the state’s sentencing caps when there is no identical state offense, the court ruled. However, when cities regulate conduct for which there exists an identical state offense, they cannot exceed the state’s cap.
Ashley Cordero, Simons’ attorney, said her client “feels relieved” with Monday’s ruling.
Rebecca Wallace, policy director at the Colorado Freedom Fund, an organization that helps people pay bail, called the decision a “victory for impoverished Coloradans.”
“We have long said that it defies logic, fairness and the law that municipal courts can send people to jail for poverty offenses with 30 times longer sentences than they could get in state court,” she said. “Today, the Colorado Supreme Court unanimously agreed.”
Aurora’s city attorney, Pete Schulte, fired back in a statement Monday, saying the Supreme Court’s decision “begs the question of whether Colorado municipalities should continue to prosecute criminal offenses in their municipal courts when they become de facto extensions of state and county courts at a cost to municipal taxpayers without reimbursement.”
Westminster officials said they are reviewing the order, but otherwise did not offer comment.
State lawmakers this year attempted to resolve the sentence disparity issue through legislation. The measure, House Bill 1147, passed both the House and the Senate before Gov. Jared Polis vetoed the bill. The governor, in his veto letter, expressed concern that the legislation would have restricted municipalities’ ability to react to local crime trends in a manner they see fit.
He also said “it would be informative” to see how the Supreme Court rules before changing the law.
Sen. Mike Weissman, an Aurora Democrat and one of the legislators who sponsored the bill, hopes Monday’s ruling changes Polis’ calculus as lawmakers discuss another municipal court bill this session.
“We’re going to continue to talk to the governor and his team,” Weissman said. “Hopefully, he’d support codifying the results of today’s decision from the court.”
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