Colorado § 16-8-118 - Temporary removal and community placement for treatment and rehabilitation.

§ 16-8-118. Temporary removal and community placement for treatment and rehabilitation.

(1) The chief officer of the institution where a defendant has been committed pursuant to this article 8 or article 8.5 of this title 16, or the chief officer's designee, may authorize treatment and rehabilitation activities involving community placement of the defendant or temporary physical removal of the defendant from the institution where the defendant has been placed, if prior to the authorization the following procedures are carried out:

(a) The chief officer, or the chief officer's designee, shall give written notice by certified mail, with return receipt requested, to the committing court and the district attorney that on or after thirty-five days from the date of mailing the notice, the chief officer, or the chief officer's designee, will authorize treatment and rehabilitation activities involving community placement of the defendant or temporary physical removal of the defendant from the institution, unless the chief officer, or the chief officer's designee, receives written objections to the authorization within thirty-five days after the date of mailing the notice.

(b) The clerk of the committing court shall deliver a copy of the notice described in subsection (1)(a) of this section to the attorney of record for the defendant. The district attorney or the attorney of record for the defendant may file objections with the clerk of the committing court to the proposed action of the chief officer of the institution where the defendant is held, or the chief officer's designee. The party making the objections shall deliver a copy of the objections, either by mail or by personal service, to the chief officer, or the chief officer's designee, prior to the expiration of thirty-five days from the mailing of the notice by the chief officer of the institution, or the chief officer's designee.

(c) In the event that objections are filed and served as provided in subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b) of this section, the committing court shall fix a time for a hearing upon the objections, and no removal of the defendant from the institution where the defendant is held is authorized unless and until approval is given by the committing court following the hearing.

(1.5) The chief officer of the institution, or the chief officer's designee, is authorized to allow a defendant, without court authorization as described in subsection (1) of this section, to leave the physical premises of the treatment or habilitation facility for needed medical treatment at a hospital, clinic, or other health-care facility, so long as the defendant is accompanied by staff from the facility.

(2) (a) A court shall order a defendant who receives treatment and rehabilitation activities involving community placement of the defendant or temporary physical removal of the defendant from the institution to register with the local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction where the defendant resides if the court finds that:

(I) The defendant was found not guilty by reason of insanity on a charge of an offense involving unlawful sexual behavior; or

(II) The defendant was found not guilty by reason of insanity on a charge of any other offense, the underlying factual basis of which includes an offense involving unlawful sexual behavior.

(a.5) A court may order a defendant who receives treatment and rehabilitation activities involving community placement of the defendant or temporary physical removal of the defendant from the institution to register with the local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction where the defendant resides if the court finds that the chief officer of the institution where the defendant has been committed, or the chief officer's designee, recommends registration based on information obtained from the defendant during the course of treatment that indicates the defendant has committed an offense involving unlawful sexual behavior.

(b) Prior to community placement or temporary physical removal from the institution of a defendant who is required to register pursuant to this subsection (2), the department of human services shall obtain from the defendant the address where the defendant plans to reside and the department shall notify the local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction where the defendant plans to reside and the Colorado bureau of investigation as provided in section 16-8-115 (4)(c).

(c) A defendant required to register pursuant to this subsection (2) shall register as provided in section 16-8-115 (4). The local law enforcement agency shall transmit any registrations received pursuant to this subsection (2) to the Colorado bureau of investigation within three business days after receipt. The Colorado bureau of investigation shall include any registration information received pursuant to this section in the central registry established pursuant to section 16-22-110 and shall specify that the information applies to a defendant required to register as a condition of community placement or temporary physical removal from an institution. The forms completed by a defendant required to register pursuant to this subsection (2) are confidential and are not open to inspection except as otherwise provided in section 16-8-115 (3)(e) for information pertaining to persons granted conditional release and except as provided for release of information to the public pursuant to sections 16-22-110 (6) and 16-22-112.

(d) (I) A defendant required to register pursuant to this subsection (2), upon completion of a period of not less than twenty years after the date the defendant begins receiving treatment and rehabilitation activities involving community placement of the defendant or temporary physical removal of the defendant from the institution, may petition the district court for an order that discontinues the requirement for registration and removes the defendant's name from the central registry established pursuant to section 16-22-110. The court may issue an order only if the court makes written findings of fact that the defendant has neither been convicted nor found not guilty by reason of insanity of an offense involving unlawful sexual behavior subsequent to the community placement or temporary removal and that the defendant would not pose an undue threat to the community if allowed to live in the community without registration.

(II) Upon the filing of a petition pursuant to this subsection (2)(d), the court shall set a date for a hearing on the petition. The defendant shall notify the local law enforcement agency with which the defendant is required to register and the prosecuting attorney for the jurisdiction in which the local law enforcement agency is located of the filing of the petition and the hearing date. The court shall notify the victim of the filing of the petition and the hearing date. At the hearing, the court shall give opportunity to the victim to provide written or oral testimony. If the court enters an order discontinuing the defendant's duty to register, the defendant shall send a copy of the order to the local law enforcement agency and the Colorado bureau of investigation.

Source: L. 72: R&RE, p. 232, § 1. C.R.S. 1963: § 39-8-118. L. 73: p. 501, § 1. L. 86: (1)(a), (1)(b), and (1)(c) amended, p. 738, § 1, effective July 1. L. 2002: (2) added, p. 498, § 2, effective July 1; (2)(c) amended, p. 1191, § 38, effective July 1. L. 2003: (2)(d)(I) amended, p. 1990, § 29, effective May 22. L. 2005: (2)(a) amended and (2)(a.5) added, p. 996, § 2, effective June 2. L. 2008: IP(1) amended and (1.5) added, p. 1859, § 14, effective July 1. L. 2012: (1)(a) and (1)(b) amended, (SB 12-175), ch. 208, p. 851, § 79, effective July 1. L. 2019: (2)(d)(II) amended, (HB 19-1064), ch. 296, p. 2749, § 2, effective May 28. L. 2025: (1), (1.5), (2)(a.5), and (2)(b) amended, (HB 25-1058), ch. 15, p. 56, § 21, effective August 6. L. 2026: IP(1), (1)(a), IP(2)(a), (2)(a.5), (2)(b), (2)(c), and (2)(d)(I) amended, (SB 26-014), ch. 54, p. 230, § 4, effective April 20.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration contained in the 2008 act amending the introductory portion to subsection (1) and enacting subsection (1.5), see section 1 of chapter 389, Session Laws of Colorado 2008.

ANNOTATION

This statutory provision indicates legislative intent to vest the committing court with continuing subject matter jurisdiction to determine questions relating to the treatment needs of a committed defendant. People v. Gilliland, 769 P.2d 477 (Colo. 1989).

Court did not abuse its discretion in emphasizing the uncertainties involved in predicting the insanity acquittee's future behavior and the seriousness of his misconduct in the past, rather than sharing the confidence of his doctors in his lack of dangerousness. People v. Riggs, 87 P.3d 109 (Colo. 2004).

Where there is no indication the hospital offered to modify the treatment plan to alleviate the court's concerns, the court merely exercised its discretion to deny the plan because it allowed for the removal of an unrestored insanity acquittee who admitted committing the most serious of crimes. People v. Riggs, 87 P.3d 109 (Colo. 2004).