Colorado § 16-2-104 - Issuance of summons and complaint.

§ 16-2-104. Issuance of summons and complaint.

(1) A summons and complaint may be issued by a peace officer for an offense constituting a misdemeanor or a petty offense committed in the peace officer's presence or, if not committed in the peace officer's presence, that the peace officer has probable cause to believe was committed and probable cause to believe was committed by the person charged. Except for:

(a) Penalty assessment notices, which must be handled pursuant to the procedures set forth in section 16-2-201 or 16-2.3-102, a copy of a summons and complaint so issued must be filed immediately with the county court before which appearance is required, and a second copy must be given to the district attorney or deputy district attorney for the county; and

(b) When a colorimetric field drug test was used and a person is solely suspected of a level 1 drug misdemeanor for possession of a controlled substance pursuant to section 18-18-403.5 (2)(c) or (2.5)(a)(II), or solely suspected of a municipal drug possession charge, a peace officer shall issue a summons and complaint and shall not arrest the person.

Source: L. 72: R&RE, p. 193, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 39-2-104. L. 73: p. 498, § 1. L. 2021: Entire section amended, (SB 21-271), ch. 462, p. 3160, § 165, effective March 1, 2022. L. 2022: Entire section amended, (HB 22-1229), ch. 68, p. 341, § 9, effective March 1. L. 2026: Entire section amended, (HB 26-1020), ch. 12, p. 55, § 3, effective March 26.

Editor's note: (1) Section 47 of chapter 68 (HB 22-1229), Session Laws of Colorado 2022, provides that the act amending this section is effective March 1, 2022, but the governor did not approve the act until April 7, 2022.

(2) Section 6 of chapter 12 (HB 26-1020), Session Laws of Colorado 2026, provides that the act changing this section applies to offenses committed on or after March 26, 2026.

Cross references: For the description of peace officer as it applies to the "Colorado Criminal Code", see § 16-2.5-101.

ANNOTATION

Annotator's note. Since § 16-2-104 is similar to repealed § 37-17-5, C.R.S. 1963, a relevant case construing that provision has been included in the annotations to this section.

The contents of a summons and complaint used in the simplified criminal procedure are not found in this section, which enumerates only those circumstances under which the form of summons and complaint may be used, but rather in section 16-2-106. Francis v. County Court, 175 Colo. 308, 487 P.2d 375 (1971).

It is sufficient that the summons allege that the complainant "knows or believes" rather than "knows or has reason to believe" accused committed the offense charged. Francis v. County Court, 175 Colo. 308, 487 P.2d 375 (1971).

Applied in Jeffrey v. District Court, 626 P.2d 631 (Colo. 1981); Corr v. District Court, 661 P.2d 668 (Colo. 1983).