(1) (a)
The state court administrator shall compile a list of drug convictions pursuant to
article 18 of title 18:
(I) That are eligible for sealing pursuant to sections 24-72-703 and 24-72-706; and
(II) (A) If the drug conviction is for a petty offense or misdemeanor, that
seven years have passed since the disposition of the case; or
(B) If the drug conviction is for a felony, that at least ten years have passed
since the disposition of the case.
(a.5) The state court administrator shall compile a list of eligible convictions,
excluding crimes pursuant to section 24-4.1-302 (1):
(I) That are eligible for sealing pursuant to sections 24-72-703 and 24-72-706; and
(II) (A) If the judgment is for a civil infraction, that four years have passed
since the final disposition of the case;
(B) If the conviction is for a petty offense or misdemeanor, that at least
seven years have passed since the final disposition of the case; and
(C) If the conviction is for an eligible felony, that at least ten years have
passed since the date of the final disposition of all criminal proceedings against the
defendant or the release of the defendant from supervision concerning a criminal
conviction, whichever is later.
(b) The state court administrator shall use the state conviction database and
the conviction databases of entities that do not report convictions to the state
database to compile the list. The state court administrator shall compile the list
based on a name-based review with sufficient points of reference for identification
validation as determined by the state court administrator. The state court
administrator must only include convictions on the list if sufficient points of
validation, as determined by the state court administrator, are present. The state
court administrator shall not include any case in which there is no final disposition
on all charges in the case. The state court administrator shall not include any
judgments for which the defendant has an intervening judgment during the four-year waiting period if the judgement is for a civil infraction and shall not include any
convictions for which the defendant has an intervening conviction during the seven-year waiting period if the conviction is for a petty offense or misdemeanor or during
the ten-year waiting period if the conviction is for a felony. The state court
administrator shall sort the list by judicial district of conviction.
(c) The state court administrator shall compile the initial list pursuant to this
subsection (1) by February 1, 2024, and the court shall seal all conviction records
eligible for sealing pursuant to the final list compiled pursuant to subsection (3)(a)
of this section based on the initial list by July 1, 2024.
(d) Beginning July 1, 2024, the state court administrator shall compile a list
of drug convictions, misdemeanors, and petty offenses that are eligible pursuant to
this subsection (1) on a quarterly basis. The state court administrator shall include
the eligible felony convictions not found in article 18 of title 18 pursuant to
subsection (1)(a.5) of this section beginning on July 1, 2025.
(2) The state court administrator shall forward the list compiled pursuant to
subsection (1) of this section to each district attorney, except for civil infractions.
The state court administrator shall send the list of civil infractions to be sealed with
the final list pursuant to subsection (3)(b) of this section to the chief judge for each
judicial district.
(3) (a) (I) Upon receipt of the list from the state court administrator, each
elected district attorney, or his or her designee, may, within forty-five days, object
to the inclusion of a conviction on the list for circumstances in which a condition of
the plea was that the defendant agreed to not have the conviction record sealed,
convictions in which the defendant has a pending criminal charge, an intervening
conviction, or convictions that are ineligible for sealing.
(II) For a felony conviction for an offense not in article 18 of title 18, in
addition to the objections in subsection (3)(a)(I) of this section, each district
attorney may, within forty-five days, object when the district attorney has a
reasonable belief, grounded in supporting facts, that the public interest and public
safety in retaining public access to the current record or case outweighs the
privacy interest of, or adverse consequences to, the defendant.
(III) Each district attorney shall file a notice with the court in the criminal
case that is the subject of the record without the need for additional service on any
party, noting the basis of the objection.
(IV) For objections pursuant to subsection (3)(a)(II) of this section, the notice
must explain the basis for the objection and include any available supporting
documents. In such cases, the court shall serve notice on the defendant at the
defendant's last-known address and explain in plain language that the defendant
may request a hearing on the matter. If the defendant requests a hearing, the court
shall proceed pursuant to section 24-72-706.
(V) The state court administrator shall remove the convictions objected to by
the district attorneys from the list, if any, and then compile each of the lists into one
final list and sort the convictions by judicial district. All convictions from the initial
lists shall be included unless objected to within the forty-five-day period as
ineligible under subsection (3)(a)(I), (3)(a)(II), or (3)(a)(III) of this section.
(b) (I) The state court administrator shall send the final list compiled
pursuant to subsection (3)(a)(V) of this section to the chief judge for the judicial
district. The courts of that judicial district shall enter sealing orders based on the
list received within fourteen days after receipt of the amended list from the state
court administrator.
(II) The district court shall send a copy of the sealing order to the district
attorney's office that prosecuted the case to facilitate sealing of the records held
by the district attorney's offices. The court shall also send a copy to the state court
administrator for purposes of subsections (3)(b)(III) and (3)(c) of this section. To
protect defendant confidentiality, a copy shall not be mailed to the defendant,
notwithstanding any Colorado criminal rule of procedure to the contrary.
(III) The state court administrator shall electronically send all orders sealing
records pursuant to this subsection (3)(b) to the Colorado bureau of investigation
using an information-sharing data transfer to facilitate sealing of the records held
by the Colorado bureau of investigation.
(IV) The defendant may obtain a copy of the sealing order pursuant to
section 24-72-703 (2)(c) and serve the sealing order on any custodian of the
records pursuant to section 24-72-703 (8), including the law enforcement agency
that investigated the case.
(c) On or before July 1, 2024, the state court administrator shall develop a
website that allows a defendant to confidentially determine whether the
defendant's conviction has been sealed pursuant to this section and information
about how to receive a copy of the sealing order.
(4) (a) On or before February 1, 2024, and on or before January 1 each year
thereafter, the state court administrator shall report to the judiciary committees of
the senate and the house of representatives, or their successor committees, by
judicial district and, to the extent possible, with data disaggregated by race and sex
and by offense level, the number of conviction records in the prior calendar year
that:
(I) Were considered for automatic record sealing;
(II) The state court administrator sent to the chief judges for each judicial
district; and
(III) The district attorneys objected to due to:
(A) Intervening convictions;
(B) The ineligibility of the offense;
(C) Pending charges;
(D) Plea agreements waiving the right to record sealing; and
(E) Objections pursuant to subsection (3)(a)(II) of this section.
(b) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the report required in this
subsection (4) continues indefinitely.
(c) During the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions, the judicial department
shall report on the progress of its implementation of this section, including the
creation of the website pursuant to subsection (3)(c) of this section, as part of the
department's State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent
(SMART) Government Act hearing required by section 2-7-203.
(5) (a) On or before July 1, 2025, the state court administrator shall compile a
list of all criminal justice records of deferred judgments that have been
successfully completed and the charges have been dismissed, acquittals, and
diversion cases pursuant to section 24-72-705 (1)(a) with dispositions prior to
August 2022. The state court administrator shall sort those criminal justice records
by judicial district and send the final list to the chief judge of each judicial district.
(b) (I) The state court administrator shall send the final list compiled
pursuant to subsection (5)(a) of this section to the chief judge for the judicial
district. The courts of that judicial district shall enter sealing orders based on the
list received within fourteen days after receipt of the final list from the state court
administrator.
(II) The district court shall send a copy of the sealing order to the district
attorney's office that prosecuted the case, and upon receipt of the order the district
attorney's office shall seal the records held by it. The court shall also send a copy
to the state court administrator for purposes of subsection (5)(b)(III) of this section.
To protect defendant confidentiality, a copy shall not be mailed to the defendant,
notwithstanding any Colorado criminal rule of procedure to the contrary.
(III) The state court administrator shall electronically send all orders sealing
records pursuant to this subsection (5)(b) to the Colorado bureau of investigation
using an information-sharing data transfer. Upon receipt of the orders, the Colorado
bureau of investigation shall seal all records held by the orders.
(IV) The defendant may obtain a copy of the sealing order pursuant to
section 24-72-703 (2)(c) and serve the sealing order on any custodian of the
records pursuant to section 24-72-703 (8), including the law enforcement agency
that investigated the case.