Colorado § 16-3-402 Right to communicate with attorney and family

Colorado Statutes

§ 16-3-402 — Right to communicate with attorney and family

Colorado § 16-3-402

Title 16Criminal

Art.Arrest - Searches and Seizures

This text of Colorado § 16-3-402 (Right to communicate with attorney and family) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 16-3-402 (2026).

Text

(1)A person who is arrested has the right to communicate with an attorney of the person's choice and a member of the person's family by making a reasonable number of telephone calls or by communicating in any other reasonable manner. The communication must be permitted at the earliest possible time after arrival at the police station, sheriff's office, jail, or other like confinement facility to which the person is first taken after arrest.

(2)If the accused person is transferred to a new place of custody, the accused person's right to communicate with an attorney and a member of the accused person's family is renewed. (2.5) If the victim is able to demonstrate through the use of caller identification or other credible evidence that the incarcerated defendant has called the v

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

(1) A person who
is arrested has the right to communicate with an attorney of the person's choice
and a member of the person's family by making a reasonable number of telephone
calls or by communicating in any other reasonable manner. The communication
must be permitted at the earliest possible time after arrival at the police station,
sheriff's office, jail, or other like confinement facility to which the person is first
taken after arrest.

(2) If the accused person is transferred to a new place of custody, the
accused person's right to communicate with an attorney and a member of the
accused person's family is renewed.

(2.5) If the victim is able to demonstrate through the use of caller
identification or other credible evidence that the incarcerated defendant has called
the victim from the jail or correctional facility in violation of the protection order
issued pursuant to section 18-1-1001, C.R.S., or in violation of any other valid
protection order or emergency protection order in effect, the defendant shall not be
entitled to further telephone calls except to such defendant's attorney, which calls
shall be placed by a jail or correctional facility staff member. If the defendant was
arrested for violating an order not to contact certain family members, the right to
contact those family members by telephone shall be prohibited, and the jail or
correctional facility staff shall place all outgoing telephone calls that the
defendant wishes to make that are not identified in the protection order as
prohibited.

(3) (a) Consistent with section 21-1-103, if a person in custody indicates in any
manner the desire to speak with an attorney, or the court determines that an inquiry
into the matter of indigency should occur, a public defender or the public
defender's authorized representative is permitted to communicate with that person
to determine whether the person in custody has counsel, whether the person in
custody desires representation from the public defender, and to make an initial
determination as to whether the person in custody is indigent. If the public defender
or the public defender's authorized representative determines that the person in
custody is indigent, the person in custody shall apply for representation by the
public defender in accordance with section 21-1-103.

(b) The public defender, upon request and with due regard for reasonable
law enforcement administrative and operational procedures, is permitted to
determine whether or not a person in custody has been taken without unnecessary
delay before the nearest available county or district judge.

Legislative History

Source: L. 72: R&RE, p. 202, � 1. C.R.S. 1963: � 39-3-402. L. 81: Entire section R&RE, p. 924, � 1, effective May 26. L. 86: (3)(a) amended, p. 731, � 1, effective July 1. L. 88: (3)(a) amended, p. 663, � 1, effective July 1. L. 94: (2.5) added, p. 2035, � 13, effective July 1. L. 2003: (2.5) amended, p. 1013, � 19, effective July 1. L. 2008: (2.5) amended, p. 1883, � 20, effective August 5. L. 2025: (1), (2), and (3) amended, (HB 25-1049), ch. 331, p. 1716, � 2, effective August 6.