Colorado § 42-4-1707 - Summons and complaint or penalty assessment notice for misdemeanors, petty offenses, and misdemeanor traffic offenses - release - registration.

§ 42-4-1707. Summons and complaint or penalty assessment notice for misdemeanors, petty offenses, and misdemeanor traffic offenses - release - registration.

(1) (a) Whenever a person commits a violation of this title punishable as a misdemeanor, petty offense, or misdemeanor traffic offense, other than a violation for which a penalty assessment notice may be issued in accordance with the provisions of section 42-4-1701 (5)(a), and such person is not required by the provisions of section 42-4-1705 to be arrested and taken without unnecessary delay before a county judge, the peace officer may issue and serve upon the defendant a summons and complaint which must contain the name and address of the defendant, the license number of the vehicle involved, if any, the number of the defendant's driver's license, if any, a citation of the statute alleged to have been violated, a brief description of the offense, the date and approximate location thereof, and the date the summons and complaint is served on the defendant; direct the defendant to appear in a specified county court at a specified time and place; and be signed by the peace officer. The summons and complaint submitted to the department of revenue and the county court before which appearance is required, either by paper or electronic submission, must contain the name and address of the defendant, the license of the vehicle involved, if any, and the number of the defendant's driver's license, if any.

(b) A summons and complaint issued and served pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) on a minor under the age of eighteen years shall also contain or be accompanied by a document containing an advisement to the minor that the minor's parent or legal guardian, if known, shall be notified by the court from which the summons is issued and be required to appear with the minor at the minor's court hearing or hearings.

(2) If a peace officer issues and serves a summons and complaint to appear in any court upon the defendant as described in subsection (1) of this section, any defect in form in such summons and complaint regarding the name and address of the defendant, the license number of the vehicle involved, if any, the number of the defendant's driver's license, if any, the date and approximate location thereof, and the date the summons and complaint is served on the defendant may be cured by amendment at any time prior to trial or any time before verdict or findings upon an oral motion by the prosecuting attorney after notice to the defendant and an opportunity for a hearing. No such amendment shall be permitted if substantial rights of the defendant are prejudiced. No summons and complaint shall be considered defective so as to be cause for dismissal solely because of a defect in form in such summons and complaint as described in this subsection (2).

(3) (a) Whenever a penalty assessment notice for a misdemeanor, petty offense, or misdemeanor traffic offense is issued pursuant to section 42-4-1701 (5)(a), the penalty assessment notice that the peace officer serves upon the defendant must contain the name and address of the defendant, the license number of the vehicle involved, if any, the number of the defendant's driver's license, if any, a citation of the statute alleged to have been violated, a brief description of the offense, the date and approximate location of the offense, the amount of the penalty prescribed for the offense, the amount of the surcharges pursuant to sections 24-4.1-119 (1)(f), 24-4.2-104 (1), and 24-33.5-415.6, the number of points, if any, prescribed for the offense pursuant to section 42-2-127, and the date the penalty assessment notice is served on the defendant; must direct the defendant to appear in a specified county court at a specified time and place in the event the penalty and surcharges are not paid; must be signed by the peace officer; and must contain other information as may be required by law to constitute the penalty assessment notice to be a summons and complaint if the prescribed penalty and surcharges are not paid within the time allowed in section 42-4-1701.

(a.5) A penalty assessment notice issued and served pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) on a minor under the age of eighteen years shall also contain or be accompanied by a document containing:

(I) A preprinted declaration stating that the minor's parent or legal guardian has reviewed the contents of the penalty assessment notice with the minor;

(II) Preprinted signature lines following the declaration on which the reviewing person described in subparagraph (I) of this paragraph (a.5) shall affix his or her signature and for a notary public to duly acknowledge the reviewing person's signature; and

(III) An advisement to the minor that:

(A) The minor shall, within seventy-two hours after service of the penalty assessment notice, inform his or her parent or legal guardian that the minor has received a penalty assessment notice;

(B) The parent or legal guardian of the minor is required by law to review and sign the penalty assessment notice and to have his or her signature duly acknowledged by a notary public; and

(C) Noncompliance with the requirement set forth in sub-subparagraph (B) of this subparagraph (III) shall result in the minor and the parent or legal guardian of the minor being required to appear in court pursuant to sections 42-4-1710 (1)(b), 42-4-1710 (1.5), and 42-4-1716 (4).

(b) One copy of said penalty assessment notice shall be served upon the defendant by the peace officer and one copy sent to the supervisor within the department and such other copies sent as may be required by rule of the department to govern the internal administration of this article between the department and the Colorado state patrol.

(4) (a) The time specified in the summons portion of said summons and complaint must be at least twenty days after the date such summons and complaint is served, unless the defendant shall demand an earlier court appearance date.

(b) The time specified in the summons portion of said penalty assessment notice shall be at least thirty days but not more than ninety days after the date such penalty assessment notice is served, unless the defendant shall demand an earlier court appearance date.

(5) The place specified in the summons portion of said summons and complaint or of the penalty assessment notice must be a county court within the county in which the offense is alleged to have been committed.

(6) If the defendant is otherwise eligible to be issued a summons and complaint or a penalty assessment notice for a violation of this title 42 punishable as a misdemeanor, petty offense, or misdemeanor traffic offense and if the defendant does not possess a valid Colorado driver's license, the defendant, in order to secure release, must receive information on the penalty assessment notice or summons and complaint that directs the defendant to appear at a specified county court at a specified time and place in the event the penalty and surcharges are not paid, and other information that may be required by law to constitute the penalty assessment to be a summons and complaint if the prescribed penalty and surcharges are not paid within the time allowed in section 42-4-1701. If the defendant does possess a valid Colorado driver's license, the defendant must not be required to execute a promise to appear on the penalty assessment notice or on the summons and complaint. The peace officer shall not require any person who is eligible to be issued a summons and complaint or a penalty assessment notice for a violation of this title 42 to produce or divulge such person's social security number.

(7) Any officer violating any of the provisions of this section is guilty of misconduct in office and shall be subject to removal from office.

Source: L. 94: Entire title amended with relocations, p. 2420, § 1, effective January 1, 1995. L. 2000: (3)(b) amended, p. 1645, § 32, effective June 1. L. 2001: (6) amended, p. 942, § 10, effective July 1. L. 2004: (1) amended and (3)(a.5) added, pp. 1333, 1334, §§ 5, 6, effective July 1, 2005. L. 2007: (3)(a) amended, p. 1121, § 6, effective July 1. L. 2009: (3)(a) and (6) amended, (SB 09-241), ch. 295, p. 1579, § 7, effective July 1. L. 2016: (1)(a) amended, (HB 16-1032), ch. 37, p. 93, § 1, effective August 10. L. 2022: (3)(a) and (6) amended, (HB 22-1150), ch. 53, p. 251, § 2, effective August 10.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 42-4-1505 as it existed prior to 1994.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Review of New Legislation Relating to Criminal Law", see 11 Colo. Law. 2148 (1982).

Annotator's note. Since § 42-4-1707 is similar to § 42-4-1505 as it existed prior to the 1994 amending of title 42 as enacted by SB 94-1, relevant cases construing that provision have been included with the annotations to this section.

Section 42-4-1507 does not allow noncompliance with the mandate of § 42-4-1505; rather, § 42-4-1507 relates to other procedures concerning arrest. People v. Overlee, 174 Colo. 202, 483 P.2d 222 (1971).

Failure of notice to advise that signature and payment of fine constitute guilty plea. Where there was no statement in the penalty assessment notices advising defendant that his signature and payment of the fine constituted a plea of guilty or an acknowledgment of guilt, the notices did not comply with the mandatory requirements of this section, and defendant's acceptance of the notices in the form tendered and his payment of the fines stated therein may not be considered a conviction for which points may be assessed. Cave v. Colo. Dept. of Rev., 31 Colo. App. 185, 501 P.2d 479 (1972).

Presumption of correctness of records held insufficient for suspending driving privileges. Presumption of the correctness of department of revenue records indicating that a motorist charged with driving 41 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone in a city had paid $15 to the municipal court clerk was insufficient for purposes of suspending the motorist's driving privileges where the evidence at the hearing established that there was neither a specific court judgment nor a signed acknowledgment of guilt as prescribed by section 42-4-1501 (4)(a) and subsection (2)(a) of this section. Troutman v. Dept. of Rev., 38 Colo. App. 417, 571 P.2d 726 (1976); Martinez v. Dolan, 41 Colo. App. 513, 591 P.2d 588 (1978).

Payment of ticket, and subsequent lack of protest, precludes challenge of conviction. Where a party pays a traffic ticket without a court judgment or a signed acknowledgment of guilt, but does not challenge the validity of the conviction and affirms the accuracy of his driving record at a departmental hearing, the party may not then challenge the conviction. Martinez v. Dolan, 41 Colo. App. 513, 591 P.2d 588 (1978).

Applied in Stortz v. Colo. Dept. of Rev., 195 Colo. 325, 578 P.2d 229 (1978).