Colorado § 13-1-114 - Powers of court.

§ 13-1-114. Powers of court.

(1) Every court has power:

(a) To preserve and enforce order in its immediate presence;

(b) To enforce order in the proceedings before it or before a person empowered to conduct a judicial investigation under its authority;

(c) To compel obedience to its lawful judgments, orders, and process and to the lawful orders of its judge out of court in action or proceeding pending therein;

(d) To control, in furtherance of justice, the conduct of its ministerial officers; and

(e) To preserve access to courthouses and court proceedings, prevent interruption of court proceedings, and enforce protection from civil arrest at a courthouse or on its environs pursuant to section 13-1-403.

(2) Any judge of any court, when he reasonably believes that there is a risk of violence in the court, shall immediately advise the law enforcement agency designated to provide security for the court, and the law enforcement agency shall determine and provide appropriate security measures consistent with the degree of risk present. For the purpose of this subsection (2), a district or county judge shall have the assistance of the county sheriff, and a municipal judge shall have the assistance of the municipal police department. The court shall have discretion to assess all or part of the expense incurred in implementing such security measures as costs to be paid by the party or parties or other person or persons determined by the court to have necessitated such security measures.

(2.5) A county sheriff providing security for a court shall use the recommended standards developed by the judicial security task force pursuant to section 13-3-122 to implement security measures for the court. The county sheriff shall, at a minimum and to the extent practicable:

(a) Maintain one secure, single-point access to a court facility;

(b) Use magnetometers when the court is in session; and

(c) Verify that each individual who enters a courthouse with a firearm is authorized pursuant to section 18-12-105.3 and maintain a log of the individual's verification, employing agency or entity, and time of entry and exit from the courthouse; except that this subsection (2.5)(c) does not apply to a peace officer who is employed in the courthouse by the county sheriff that has jurisdiction over the courthouse.

(3) Any county sheriff or municipal peace officer providing security for persons involved in judicial proceedings in courts pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be immune from civil liability for damages except for gross negligence or reckless, wanton, or intentional misconduct.

Source: L. 1887: p. 216, § 428. Code 08: § 463. Code 21: § 464. Code 35: § 464. CRS 53: § 37-1-15. C.R.S. 1963: § 37-1-15. L. 86: (2) and (3) added, p. 673, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2020: (1)(d) amended and (1)(e) added, (SB 20-083), ch. 63, p. 218, § 2, effective March 23. L. 2026: (2.5) added, (HB 26-1422), ch. 331, p. 1933, § 11, effective June 2.

ANNOTATION

A county's duties under subsection (2) may not be reduced or ended pursuant to art. X, § 20(9) of the state constitution. State v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, Mesa County, 897 P.2d 788 (Colo. 1995).

Applied in Campbell v. District Court, 304 Colo. 195, 577 P.2d 1096 (1978).