State Public Defender

C.R.S. tit. 21, art. 1
in effect

C.R.S. § 21-1-101 Public defender - policy - commission

21-1-101. Public defender - policy - commission. (1) The office of state public defender is hereby created and established as an agency of the judicial department of state government. The general assembly hereby declares that the state public defender at all times shall serve his clients independently of any political considerations or private interests, provide legal services to indigent persons accused of crime that are commensurate with those available to nonindigents, and conduct the office in accordance with the Colorado rules of professional conduct and with the American bar association standards relating to the administration of criminal justice, the defense function. (2) The Colorado supreme court shall provide for the appointment, terms, and procedure for a five-member public defender commission, no more than three of whom shall be from the same political party. Three of the members of the commission shall be attorneys admitted to practice law in this state, and two shall be citizens of Colorado not admitted to practice law in this state. In making appointments to the commission, the supreme court shall consider place of residence, sex, race, and ethnic background. No member of the commission shall be at any time a judge, prosecutor, public defender, or employee of a law enforcement agency. (3) The public defender commission shall appoint and discharge, for cause, the state public defender, who shall be appointed to serve a term of five years and shall serve until his successor is appointed and qualified. He may be reappointed for one or more subsequent five-year terms. Vacancies in the office shall be filled by the public defender commission for the remainder of the unexpired term. The state public defender serving as such on July 1, 1979, shall continue to serve his current term. (4) Members of the public defender commission shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for actual and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. (5) Any expenses incurred for the commission shall be paid from the general operating budget of the office of the state public defender.

C.R.S. § 21-1-102 State public defender - deputies and employees - regional offices

21-1-102. State public defender - deputies and employees - regional offices. (1) The state public defender shall have been licensed to practice law in this state for at least five years prior to his appointment, and he shall devote full time to the performance of his duties and shall not engage in the private practice of law. (2) The compensation of the state public defender shall be fixed by the general assembly and may not be reduced during the term of his appointment. (3) The state public defender shall employ and fix the compensation of a chief deputy public defender, deputy state public defenders, investigators, and any other employees necessary to discharge the functions of the office. All salaries shall be reviewed and approved by the Colorado supreme court. The chief deputy public defender and deputy public defenders shall serve, on a full-time basis, at the pleasure of the state public defender and shall not otherwise engage in the practice of law. (4) The state public defender shall establish such regional offices as he deems necessary to carry out his duties under this article.

C.R.S. § 21-1-103 Representation of indigent persons

21-1-103. Representation of indigent persons. (1) The state public defender shall represent as counsel, without charge except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, each indigent person who is under arrest for or charged with committing a felony if: (a) The defendant requests it and he complies with subsection (3) of this section; or (b) The court, on its own motion or otherwise, so orders and the defendant does not affirmatively reject, of record, the opportunity to be represented by legal counsel in the proceeding. When appointed by the court, the office of the state public defender shall be limited to defending the indigent person and shall not be appointed to act as advisory counsel. The court shall not appoint a public defender to represent a defendant if such defendant does not fall within the fiscal standards or guidelines established by the supreme court for appointment of public defenders. (2) The state public defender shall represent indigent persons charged in any court with crimes that constitute misdemeanors and in which the charged offense includes a possible sentence of incarceration; juveniles upon whom a delinquency petition is filed or who are in any way restrained by court order, process, or otherwise; persons held in any institution against their will by process or otherwise for the treatment of any disease or disorder or confined for the protection of the public; and persons charged with municipal code violations as the state public defender in his or her discretion may determine, subject to review by the court if: (a) The indigent person or the indigent person's parent or legal guardian in delinquency or other actions pursuant to article 2.5 of title 19 requests it and complies with subsection (3) of this section; or (b) The court, on its own motion or otherwise, so orders or requests and the defendant or the defendant's parent or legal guardian in delinquency or other actions pursuant to article 2.5 of title 19 does not affirmatively reject, of record, the opportunity to be represented by legal counsel in the proceeding. The court shall not appoint a public defender to represent the defendant, or the defendant's parent or legal guardian, if the person does not fall within the fiscal standards or guidelines established by the supreme court. (3) The state public defender shall make the determination of indigency, subject to review by the court. When a defendant or, if applicable, the defendant's parent or legal guardian requests representation by a public defender, such person shall submit an appropriate application, the form of which states that the application is signed under oath and under the penalty of perjury and that a false statement may be prosecuted as such. The applicant shall pay a nonrefundable processing fee of twenty-five dollars if the court-appointed counsel enters an appearance based upon the application; except that a person under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, as defined in section 19-1-103, or the person's parent, guardian, or legal custodian is not required to pay the processing fee. The fee is assessed at the time of sentencing, if sentencing occurs, or upon other final disposition of the case; except that the court may, at sentencing or other final disposition, waive the fee if the court determines, based upon the financial information submitted by the party being represented by the court-appointed counsel, that the person does not have the financial resources to pay the fee. Before the court appoints a public defender based on said application, the court shall advise the defendant or, if applicable, the defendant's parent or legal guardian that the application is signed under oath and under the penalty of perjury. A copy of the application must be sent to the prosecuting attorney for review, and, upon request, the court shall hold a hearing on the issue of the eligibility for appointment of the public defender's office said application, the court shall advise the defendant or, if applicable, the defendant's parent or legal guardian that the application is signed under oath and under the penalty of perjury. A copy of the application must be sent to the prosecuting attorney for review, and, upon request, the court shall hold a hearing on the issue of the eligibility for appointment of the public defender's office. Processing fees collected pursuant to this subsection (3) are transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the general fund. (4) Nothing is this section shall be construed to authorize the public defender to represent or advise any person who is physically outside the state of Colorado and who has not made a court appearance in the pending matter in the state of Colorado. (5) Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent the public defender, before determining indigency, from providing representation to juveniles in detention hearings.

C.R.S. § 21-1-104 Duties of public defender - report

21-1-104. Duties of public defender - report. (1) When representing an indigent person, the state public defender, only after the conditions of section 21-1-103 have been met, shall: (a) Counsel and defend him, whether he is held in custody, filed on as a delinquent, or charged with a criminal offense or municipal code violation at every stage of the proceedings following arrest, detention, or service of process; and (b) Prosecute any appeals or other remedies before or after conviction that the state public defender considers to be in the interest of justice, except as limited in subsection (3) of this section. (2) In no case, however, shall the state public defender be required to prosecute any appeal or other remedy unless the state public defender is satisfied first that there is arguable merit to the proceeding. (3) In order to expedite death penalty appeals, state moneys shall not be used to prosecute any appeal on behalf of the defendant in any class 1 felony case where the death penalty has been imposed that is not an appeal as of right in state court. In addition, in any class 1 felony case where the death penalty has been imposed, state moneys shall not be used to prosecute any federal habeas corpus proceeding on behalf of the petitioner, unless the petitioner is seeking to prevent extradition. For purposes of this subsection (3), "appeal as of right" means a direct appeal on behalf of the defendant of the validity of the underlying conviction and the propriety of the sentence and a motion for postconviction relief properly brought by the defendant in accordance with rule 35 of the Colorado rules of criminal procedure and any appeal on behalf of the defendant of the denial of such motion. (4) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), pursuant to section 2-7-203, the state public defender shall report annually to the judiciary committees of the house of representatives and senate, or to any successor committees, information concerning: (a) The number of juvenile delinquency cases for which counsel from the office is appointed; (b) The number of juvenile cases that involve a conflict of interest; (c) The process of selecting, training, and supporting attorneys who represent children in juvenile delinquency court; (d) The average length of time attorneys are assigned to juvenile court; (e) The outcome of efforts to reduce juvenile court rotations and increase opportunities for promotional advancement in salaries for attorneys in juvenile court; and (f) The process of training attorneys and other employees of the office concerning determinations of competency to proceed for juveniles and adults, competency evaluation reports, services to restore competency, and certification proceedings governed by article 65 of title 27. (5) The state public defender shall hire social workers, as defined in section 12-245-401 (9), to assist in defending juvenile defendants. (6) The office of state public defender shall provide one or more public defender liaisons to the department of corrections and the state board of parole to assist inmates or inmate liaisons with legal matters related to detainers, bonds, holds, warrants, competency, special needs parole applications, and commutation applications. The office of state public defender, in consultation with the state board of parole and the department of corrections, shall develop any necessary policies and procedures for implementation of this subsection (6).

C.R.S. § 21-1-105 Appointment of other attorney or investigator in place of public defender - contracts for services

21-1-105. Appointment of other attorney or investigator in place of public defender - contracts for services. (Repealed)

C.R.S. § 21-1-106 Recoupment of fees and costs

21-1-106. Recoupment of fees and costs. In any case when a court determines that a defendant is able to repay all or part of the expense of state-supplied or court-appointed counsel or any ancillary expenses incurred in representing such defendant, the court shall assess such fees or costs against such defendant and shall notify the judicial district's collection investigator.

C.R.S. § 21-1-107 State public defender - gifts, grants, and donations for record sealing - sealing defense fund - created

21-1-107. State public defender - gifts, grants, and donations for record sealing - sealing defense fund - created. (1) The state public defender may apply for grants and accept gifts or donations from private or public sources for the purpose of representing indigent clients in matters pursuant to part 7 of article 72 of title 24 when such action is in accordance with the Colorado rules of professional conduct and the American bar association standards relating to criminal justice for the defense function. The state public defender shall not accept a gift, grant, or donation if the gift, grant, or donation is conditioned on its use for sealing records for a specific identified individual or individuals. The state public defender shall transmit all money received through gifts, grants, or donations to the state treasurer, who shall credit the money to the sealing defense fund created in subsection (2) of this section. (2) (a) The sealing defense fund, referred to in this subsection (2) as the "fund", is created in the state treasury. The fund consists of gifts, grants, and donations credited to the fund pursuant to subsection (1) of this section and section 21-2-109 and any other money that the general assembly may appropriate or transfer to the fund. (b) The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund. (c) Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the state public defender and the office of alternate defense counsel for the purpose of representing indigent clients in matters pursuant to part 7 of article 72 of title 24. (3) The state public defender shall annually report on the receipt and expenditure of gifts, grants, and donations pursuant to subsection (1) of this section at its presentation to its committee of reference at a hearing held pursuant to section 2-7-203 (2)(a) of the "State Measurement for Accountable, Responsive, and Transparent (SMART) Government Act".
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-21.docxFetched: 10/6/2026

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