Peo in Interest of APR

CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 16, 2026
Docket23CA1928
StatusUnpublished

This text of Peo in Interest of APR (Peo in Interest of APR) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Peo in Interest of APR, (Colo. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

23CA1928 Peo in Interest of APR 04-16-2026

COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS

Court of Appeals No. 23CA1928 Weld County District Court No. 22JD52 Honorable Marcelo A. Kopcow, Judge

The People of the State of Colorado,

Petitioner-Appellee,

In the Interest of A.P.R.,

Juvenile-Appellant.

JUDGMENT AND ORDER AFFIRMED

Division III Opinion by JUDGE DUNN Harris and Moultrie, JJ., concur

NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e) Announced April 16, 2026

Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Brittany Limes Zehner, Senior Assistant Attorney General and Assistant Solicitor General, Denver, Colorado, for Petitioner-Appellee

Megan A. Ring, Colorado State Public Defender, Casey Mark Klekas, Deputy State Public Defender, Denver, Colorado, for Juvenile-Appellant ¶1 A.P.R. appeals his adjudication of delinquency for sexual

assault. He argues that we must reverse his adjudication because

depriving a juvenile charged with a felony of the right to a jury trial

is unconstitutional under the federal and state constitutions. He

alternatively argues that the district court abused its discretion by

denying his request for a jury trial and erred by denying his motion

to suppress a pretextual conversation. And, finally, he contends

that we must vacate the restitution order. We affirm.

I. Background

¶2 After the victim reported to her father that A.P.R., then a

juvenile, sexually assaulted her at school, her father contacted the

police. The victim met with the investigating officer and agreed to

engage in a pretextual conversation with A.P.R. With the officer’s

help, the victim texted A.P.R. to talk about “what happened.”

During the conversation, the victim asserted that A.P.R. had raped

her and that she had told him “no a million times before [he] even

touched [her].” A.P.R. responded, “I realize that n I’m sorry . . . I

didn’t mean to do that to u.” He later added, “I really am sorry I

shouldn’t have done that to u.”

1 ¶3 At the investigating officer’s request, A.P.R. agreed to an

interview. A.P.R. admitted that he and the victim — who he had

recently dated — had sex at school but said the sex was

consensual. When confronted with the text messages, A.P.R.

explained that he apologized in the text messages because the

victim regretted having sex.

¶4 The prosecution filed a petition in delinquency charging A.P.R.

with one count of sexual assault. The district court denied A.P.R.’s

request for a jury trial and his motion to suppress the text

messages.

¶5 After a bench trial, the court found A.P.R. guilty and

adjudicated him delinquent. The court sentenced A.P.R. to two

years of probation and later imposed restitution.

II. Right to Jury Trial

¶6 Though A.P.R. recognizes that the Colorado Supreme Court

has ruled that a juvenile does not have a state or federal

constitutional right to a jury trial, see A.C. v. People, 16 P.3d 240,

241, 243, 245 (Colo. 2001), he argues at some length that we

should reach a different conclusion largely based on out-of-state

authority, see In re L.M., 186 P.3d 164, 169-70 (Kan. 2008).

2 ¶7 But A.C. is still good law and is thus binding on us. See

People v. Porter, 2015 CO 34, ¶ 23. Because we are not at liberty to

overrule the Colorado Supreme Court, we assume A.P.R. is simply

preserving his ability to ask the Colorado Supreme Court to revisit

and overrule A.C.1 See People v. Novotny, 2014 CO 18, ¶ 26 (The

supreme court “alone can overrule [its] prior precedents concerning

matters of state law.”).

¶8 We therefore conclude that the district court was not required

to grant A.P.R.’s request for a jury trial.

III. Discretionary Grant of Jury Trial

¶9 A.P.R. alternatively argues that the district court abused its

discretion by denying his request for a jury trial. We disagree.

A. Applicable Law and Standard of Review

¶ 10 A juvenile has a statutory right to a jury trial in two

circumstances — when charged as an aggravated juvenile offender

or with a crime of violence. See § 19-2.5-610(1), C.R.S. 2025; A.C.,

1 A.P.R. also argues that “depriving juveniles charged with felonies

of the right to jury trial violates Colorado statutes and rules of procedure.” We do not address arguments that are presented in a “cursory . . . and undeveloped manner.” People v. Gingles, 2014 COA 163, ¶ 29.

3 16 P.3d at 242-43. When — as here — a juvenile has been charged

with a felony that does not fall within those two circumstances, the

court “has discretion to grant a jury trial.” A.C., 16 P.3d at 243.

This discretion allows the court to “balance the benefits of informal,

speedy and rehabilitative proceedings against the severity of the

offense, the nature of the consequences and the particular facts of

the case.” Id. at 244.

¶ 11 We review a district court’s denial of a juvenile’s request for a

jury trial for an abuse of discretion, which occurs only when the

court’s decision was manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, or unfair.

People in Interest of A.B.-B., 215 P.3d 1205, 1209 (Colo. App. 2009).

B. The Court Properly Exercised Its Discretion

¶ 12 The district court denied A.P.R.’s request for a jury trial,

concluding that a jury trial “would not be necessary or appropriate

in this case,” considering “the purpose of the juvenile code, and the

individual facts and circumstances.” A.P.R. says this was reversible

error because, in his view, the “particular facts of the case,” the

“severity of [the] felony offense[,] and the potential consequences of

a finding of guilt” outweighed the “benefits of informal, speedy[,]

and rehabilitative proceedings.”

4 ¶ 13 But we disagree that the court abused its discretion. The case

involved a single felony count. The facts were simple and centered

on whether the victim consented to sex or not. There were few

witnesses, and the trial was short. And while the consequences of a

sexual assault adjudication are serious, the same is generally true

of any felony. Yet the General Assembly mandated jury trials for

only two types of felonies.2 See id. at 1210 (upholding denial of

request for a jury trial in a sexual assault on a child case when the

case “was not a factually complex case” and the number of

witnesses was limited).

¶ 14 Because the district court considered the appropriate

factors — albeit briefly — we cannot say it abused its discretion

even if we might have reached a different result. See People in

Interest of T.B., 2016 COA 151M, ¶ 60, aff’d, 2019 CO 53.

¶ 15 To the extent A.P.R. argues that the court was required to

grant a jury trial because the judge made pretrial rulings and

purportedly formed unfavorable credibility opinions, we disagree.

2 While A.P.R. was concerned about sex offender registration, the

court held that “registration for this crime when [A.P.R.] was a juvenile, would not be appropriate.”

5 The court’s rulings and knowledge of the case are insufficient to

establish bias. People in Interest of S.G., 91 P.3d 443, 448 (Colo.

App.

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People in the Interest of Z.T.T
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Effland v. People
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People v. Novotny
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People v. Gingles
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