Colorado Victims' Rights Act (VRA)

§ 24-4.1-302.5. Rights afforded to victims.

(1) In order to preserve and protect a victim's rights to justice and due process, each victim of a crime has the following rights:

1. (a) The right to be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity, and to be free from intimidation, harassment, or abuse, throughout the criminal justice process;
2. (b) The right to be informed of and be present by appearing in person, by phone, virtually by audio or video, or similar technology for all critical stages of the criminal justice process as specified in section 24-4.1-302 (2); except that the victim shall have the right to be informed of, without being present for, the critical stages described in section 24-4.1-302 (2)(a), (2)(a.5), (2)(a.7), (2)(e.5), (2)(k.3), (2)(n), (2)(p), (2)(q), (2)(r), and (2)(u);
3. (b.5) Repealed.
4. (b.6) For a victim of an offense resulting in a juvenile felony adjudication, the right to be informed of the filing of any petition or motion to legally possess, use, or carry a firearm or other weapon pursuant to section 18-12-108 (3)(b);
5. (b.7) For a victim of a sex offense, the right to be informed of the filing of any petition or motion filed to terminate sex offender registration pursuant to section 16-22-103 (5) or 16-22-113 (2) and (2.5);
6. (b.8) For a victim who has had forensic medical evidence collected pursuant to section 12-240-139 (1)(b) that has not resulted in a conviction or plea of guilty, the right to be notified by the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction for the case, upon request, of the status and location of the victim's forensic medical evidence, including:
   1. (I) The right to be notified that the forensic medical evidence has been submitted to an accredited crime lab for testing as required by the rules promulgated pursuant to section 24-33.5-113;
   2. (II) The right to be notified when the law enforcement agency has received the results of the medical forensic evidence DNA analysis from the accredited crime laboratory;
   3. (III) The right to be informed of whether a DNA sample was obtained from the analysis and whether or not there are matches to DNA profiles in state or federal databases;
   4. (IV) The right to be informed at least sixty days prior to the destruction of forensic medical evidence collected in connection with the alleged sex offense;
   5. (V) The right to file, prior to the expiration of the sixty-day period, an objection with the law enforcement agency, the Colorado bureau of investigation, or the accredited crime laboratory that is proposing to destroy the forensic medical evidence;
   6. (VI) The right to be informed of any change in status of the case, including if the case has been closed or reopened; and
   7. (VII) The right to receive a physical document identifying the rights under law after the exam has been completed;
7. (b.9) The right to receive a free copy of the initial incident report from the investigating law enforcement agency; except that the release of a document associated with the investigation is at the discretion of the law enforcement agency based on the status of the case or security and safety concerns in a correctional facility, local jail, or private contract prison as defined in section 17-1-102. The initial incident report must contain, at a minimum, the victim's name, the offender's name, the date of the crime, the charges, and a summary of the incident so the victim has sufficient detail to help the victim with, including but not limited to, insurance claims, employer intercession, protection orders, and landlord-tenant notification. The law enforcement agency may redact the names of other victims involved in the incident who are not related to the victim requesting the report and any personal identifying information, including but not limited to social security numbers, driver's license numbers, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and physical addresses related to parties or witnesses in the case. The investigating law enforcement agency shall notify the district attorney of the information the victim received in the incident report and when it was provided to the victim. The district attorney shall provide this information to any defendant involved in the case through the discovery process.
8. (c)
   1. (I) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (1)(c)(II) of this section: (A) The right to be informed when a person who is accused or convicted of a crime against the victim is released or discharged from county jail; and (B) The right to be informed when a person who is accused or convicted of a crime against the victim is released or discharged from custody other than county jail, is paroled, escapes from a secure or nonsecure correctional facility or program, absconds from probation or parole, or commits an unauthorized absence as described in section 18-8-208.2 (1).
   2. (II) With respect to the release, discharge, or permanent transfer of a person from a county jail or correctional facility, the provisions of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (c) shall apply when the person released, discharged, or permanently transferred is no longer within the care and control of the supervising law enforcement or correctional agency. The provisions of subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (c) shall not apply to the temporary transfer of the care and control of a person from a county jail or a correctional facility by the supervising law enforcement or correctional agency to another equally or more secure county jail or correctional facility, so long as the person will return to the care and control of the transferring supervisory agency.
9. (d) The right to be heard at any court proceeding:
   1. (I) Involving the defendant's bond as specified in section 24-4.1-302 (2)(c). If there is a request to decrease or modify the bond or bond conditions, the court shall set a hearing pursuant to section 16-4-109 (1), and the district attorney shall notify the victim of the hearing.
   2. (II) At which the court accepts a plea of nolo contendere;
   3. (III) At which the court accepts a negotiated plea agreement;
   4. (IV) At which a person accused or convicted of a crime against the victim is sentenced or resentenced;
   5. (V) At which the sentence of a person accused or convicted of a crime against the victim is modified;
   6. (VI) At which the defendant requests a modification of the no contact provision of the mandatory criminal protection order pursuant to section 18-1-1001 or 19-2.5-607;
   7. (VII) Involving any application to the court for the issuance of a subpoena for records concerning the victim's medical history, mental health, education, or victim compensation, or any other records that are privileged pursuant to section 13-90-107;
   8. (VIII) Involving a petition for expungement as described in section 19-1-306;
   9. (IX) Involving a hearing as described in section 24-31-902 (2)(c);
   10. (X) Involving a hearing held pursuant to section 24-72-706, 24-72-709, or 24-72-710; or
   11. (XI) Involving a hearing held pursuant to section 18-1.3-103.7 or 19-2.5-1118.5.
10. (d.5) If a victim or a victim's designee is unavailable to be present for the critical stages described in subsection (1)(d) of this section and the victim or the victim's designee wishes to address the court, the right to request that the court, within the court's resources, arrange and provide the means for the victim and the victim's designee to provide input to the court beyond a written victim impact statement, which may include, but need not be limited to, appearing by phone, virtually by video or audio, or similar technology.
11. (e) The right to consult with the prosecution after any crime against the victim has been charged, prior to any prefile or post filing diversion offer, prior to any disposition of the case, or prior to any trial of the case, and the right to be informed of the final disposition of the case.
12. (e.2) The right to be informed if a district attorney grants early termination to an offender participating in a diversion program and the date of termination from the diversion program;
13. (f) The right to be informed by local law enforcement agencies, prior to the filing of charges with the court, or by the district attorney, after the filing of charges with the court, of the status of any case concerning a crime against the victim, and any scheduling changes or cancellations.
14. (g) The right to be present at the sentencing hearing, including any hearing conducted pursuant to section 18-1.3-1201 or 18-1.4-102, C.R.S., for cases involving class 1 felonies, of any person convicted of a crime against such victim, and to inform the district attorney and the court, in writing, by a victim impact statement, and by an oral statement, of the harm that the victim has sustained as a result of the crime, with the determination of whether the victim makes written input or oral input, or both, to be made at the sole discretion of the victim;
15. (h) The right to have the court determine the amount, if any, of restitution to be paid to a victim pursuant to part 6 of article 1.3 of title 18, C.R.S., by any person convicted of a crime against such victim for the actual pecuniary damages that resulted from the commission of the crime;
16. (i) The right to be informed of the victim's right to pursue a civil judgment against any person convicted of a crime against the victim for any damages incurred by the victim as a result of the commission of the crime regardless of whether the court has ordered such person to make restitution to the victim;
17. (j) The right to be informed of any proceeding at which any postconviction release from confinement in a secure state correctional facility is being considered for any person convicted of a crime against the victim and the right to be present by appearing in person, by phone, or virtually by video or audio, or similar technology, and heard at any such proceeding or to provide written information. For purposes of this subsection (1), "proceeding" means reconsideration of sentence, a parole hearing, a full parole board review, revocation hearing, rescission hearing, commutation of sentence, or consideration for placement in the specialized program developed by the department of corrections pursuant to section 17-34-102.
18. (j.2) The right to be informed of any request for progression from the state mental health hospital on behalf of a person in its custody as a result of a criminal case involving the victim, and the right to be present by appearing in person, by phone, or virtually by video or audio, or similar technology, and heard at any hearing during which a court considers such a request. For purposes of this subsection (1)(j.2), "request for progression" includes any request for off-grounds or unsupervised privileges, community placement, conditional release, unconditional discharge, or a special furlough.
19. (j.3) The right to be notified of a referral of an offender to community corrections;
20. (j.5) The right to provide a written victim impact statement that must be included with any referral made by the department of corrections or a district court to place an offender in a community corrections facility or program.
21. (j.7) The right, at the discretion of the district attorney, to view all or a portion of the presentence report of the probation department;
22. (j.8) The right, upon request, to obtain any incident recording as described in section 24-31-902;
23. (k) The right to promptly receive any property that belongs to a victim and that is being held by a prosecutorial or law enforcement agency unless there are evidentiary reasons for the retention of such property;
24. (l) The right to be informed of the availability of financial assistance and community services for victims, the immediate families of victims, and witnesses, which assistance and community services shall include, but shall not be limited to, crisis intervention services, victim compensation funds, victim assistance resources, legal resources, mental health services, social services, medical resources, rehabilitative services, and financial assistance services, and the right to be informed about the application process for such services;
25. (l.5) The right to be informed about the possibility of restorative justice practices, as defined in section 18-1-901 (3)(o.5), C.R.S., which includes victim-offender conferences;
26. (m) The right to be informed about what steps can be taken by a victim or a witness, including information regarding protection services, in case there is any intimidation or harassment by a person accused or convicted of a crime against the victim, or any other person acting on behalf of the accused or convicted person;
27. (n) The right to be provided with appropriate employer intercession services to encourage the victim's employer to cooperate with the criminal justice system in order to minimize the loss of employment, pay, or other benefits resulting from a victim's court appearances or other required meetings with criminal justice officials;
28. (o) The right to be assured that in any criminal proceeding the court, the prosecutor, and other law enforcement officials will take appropriate action to achieve a swift and fair resolution of the proceedings;
29. (p) The right to be provided, whenever practicable, with a secure waiting area during court proceedings that does not require a victim or a witness to be seen or to be in close proximity to the person accused or convicted of a crime against the victim or such person's family or friends;
30. (q) The right to be informed when a person convicted of a crime against the victim is placed in or transferred to a less secure public or private correctional facility or program;
31. (q.5) The right to be informed of the results of a probation or parole revocation hearing;
32. (r) The right to be informed when a person who is or was charged with or convicted of a crime against the victim escapes or is permanently or conditionally transferred or released from any public hospital, private hospital, or state hospital;
33. (s) The right to be informed of any rights which the victim has pursuant to the constitution of the United States or the state of Colorado;
34. (t) The right to be informed of the process for enforcing compliance with this article pursuant to section 24-4.1-303 (17);
35. (u) The right to be informed of the results of any testing for a sexually transmitted infection that is ordered and performed pursuant to section 18-3-415, 25-4-408 (6), or 25-4-412, C.R.S.;
36. (v) The right to prevent any party at any court proceeding from compelling testimony regarding the current address, telephone number, place of employment, or other locating information of the victim unless the victim consents or the court orders disclosure upon a finding that a reasonable and articulable need for the information exists.
37. (w) The right to have the district attorney, a law enforcement agency, a probation department, a state or private correctional facility, the department of human services, or the Colorado mental health institute at Pueblo make all reasonable efforts to exclude or redact a victim's social security number or a witness' social security number from a criminal justice document or record created or compiled as a result of a criminal investigation when the document or record is released to anyone other than the victim, the defense attorney of record, the defense attorney's agent, or a criminal justice agency that has duties under this article.
38. (x) The right to be notified of how to request protection of their address pursuant to the Colorado rules of criminal procedure.
39. (y) The right to receive a copy of the victim impact statement form from the district attorney's office;
40. (z) The right to be notified of a hearing concerning any motion filed for or petition for sealing of records described in section 24-72-706 or 24-72-709 or 24-72-710 filed by a defendant in the criminal case whose crime falls under section 24-4.1-302 (1);
41. (aa) The right to be informed of the governor's decision to commute or pardon a person convicted of a crime against the victim before such information is publicly disclosed.