Colorado § 19-2.5-502 - Petition initiation - petition form and content.

§ 19-2.5-502. Petition initiation - petition form and content.

(1) If the district attorney determines that the interests of the juvenile or of the community require that further action be taken, the district attorney may file a petition in delinquency on the form specified in subsections (3), (4), and (5) of this section, which the court shall accept. If the district attorney chooses to file a petition in delinquency on any juvenile who receives a detention hearing pursuant to section 19-2.5-305, the district attorney shall file the petition within seventy-two hours after the detention hearing, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. Upon filing the petition, the court, if practicable, shall send notice of the pendency of such action to the juvenile's parent, guardian, or legal custodian.

(2) If the petition is the first juvenile petition filed against the juvenile in any jurisdiction and is initiated in a jurisdiction that has restorative justice practices available, the district attorney or the district attorney's designee may determine whether the juvenile is suitable for restorative justice practices. The district attorney shall consider whether the victim, having been informed about restorative justice practices pursuant to section 24-4.1-303 (11)(g), is requesting consideration of restorative justice practices as an alternative to formal prosecution; the seriousness of the crime; the crime's impact on the victim; the best methodology to involve the victim; whether the juvenile accepts responsibility for, expresses remorse for, and is willing to repair the harm caused by the juvenile's actions; whether the juvenile's parent or legal guardian is willing to support the juvenile in the process; and other programmatic support available. If a juvenile wants to participate in restorative justice practices, the juvenile shall make the request to the district attorney or the law enforcement agency administering the program and may not make the request to the victim. If requested by the juvenile, restorative justice practices may only be conducted after the district attorney consults with the victim and offers the victim an opportunity to participate or submit a victim impact statement. If a victim elects not to attend, a victim-offender conference may be held with a suitable victim surrogate or victim advocate, and the victim may submit a victim impact statement. The district attorney may offer dismissal of charges as an option for the successful completion of these and any other conditions imposed and designed to address the harm done to the victim and the community by the offender, subject to approval by the court.

(3) Form and content. The petition and all subsequent court documents in any proceedings brought pursuant to section 19-1-104 (1)(a) or (1)(b) must be titled "The People of the State of Colorado, in the Interest of ........, a juvenile (or juveniles) and Concerning ........, Respondent". The petition may be filed using the language of the statutes defining the offense, including either conjunctive or disjunctive clauses. Pleading in either the conjunctive or the disjunctive places a respondent on notice that the prosecution may rely on any or all of the alternatives alleged.

(4) The petition must plainly set forth the facts that bring the juvenile within the court's jurisdiction. If the petition alleges that the juvenile is delinquent, it must cite the law or municipal or county ordinance that the juvenile is alleged to have violated. The petition must also state the name, age, and residence of the juvenile and the names and residences of the juvenile's parents, guardian, or other legal custodian or of the nearest known relative if a parent, guardian, or other legal custodian is unknown.

(5) (a) Pursuant to article 1.2 of this title 19, in delinquency proceedings to which the federal "Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978", 25 U.S.C. sec. 1901 et seq., applies, including, but not limited to, status offenses such as the illegal possession or consumption of ethyl alcohol or marijuana by an underage individual or illegal possession of marijuana paraphernalia by an underage person, as described in section 18-13-122, and possession of handguns by juveniles, as described in section 18-12-108.5, the petition must:

(I) Include a statement indicating what continuing inquiries the district attorney or the district attorney's representative has made in determining whether the juvenile is an Indian child;

(II) Identify whether the juvenile is an Indian child; and

(III) Include the identity of the Indian child's tribe, if the child is identified as an Indian child.

(b) If notices were sent to the Indian child's parent or Indian custodian and to the Indian child's tribe pursuant to article 1.2 of this title 19, the postal receipts must be attached to the petition and filed with the court or filed within fourteen days after the filing of the petition, as specified in article 1.2 of this title 19.

Source: L. 2021: Entire article added with relocations, (SB 21-059), ch. 136, p. 596, § 2, effective October 1. L. 2025: IP(5)(a) and (5)(b) amended, (HB 25-1204), ch. 338, p. 1816, § 5, effective August 6.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former §§ 19-2-512 and 19-2-513 as they existed prior to 2021.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Colorado Moves Toward Full Compliance With Federal Indian Child Welfare Act", see 31 Colo. Law. 77 (Nov. 2002).

Annotator's note. The following annotations include cases decided under former provisions similar to this section.

Petition to inform of nature and cause of accusation. A petition in delinquency is sufficient if it advises the juvenile of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, so that he can adequately defend himself. People in Interest of R.G., 630 P.2d 89 (Colo. App. 1981).

Petition in delinquency need not specify lesser included offenses that may have been committed in commission of the described act. People in Interest of R.G., 630 P.2d 89 (Colo. App. 1981).

Incorrect statutory citation not fatal. The incorrect citation of a specific statutory reference in a petition in delinquency is not grounds for reversal, absent substantial prejudice. People in Interest of R.G., 630 P.2d 89 (Colo. App. 1981).

State is a party of record to a delinquency proceeding. S.A.S. v. District Court, 623 P.2d 58 (Colo. 1981).