Title 16, Criminal Proceedings

(1) The applicable test of insanity shall be, and the jury shall be so instructed: A person who is so diseased or defective in mind at the time of the commission of the act as to be incapable of distinguishing right from wrong with respect to that act is not accountable. But care…

The intent of the general assembly in enacting section 16-8-101.5 and making conforming amendments to sections 16-8-101 to 16-8-104, 16-8-106, 16-8-110, 16-8-114, 16-8-115, and 16-8-120 in 1995, and in enacting clarifying provisions in this section and sections 16-8-104.5 and 16-…

(1) The applicable test of insanity shall be: (a) A person who is so diseased or defective in mind at the time of the commission of the act as to be incapable of distinguishing right from wrong with respect to that act is not accountable; except that care should be taken not to c…

As used in this article 8, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) Diseased or defective in mind does not refer to an abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal or otherwise antisocial conduct. Evidence of knowledge or awareness of the victim's actual or perceived gender…

(1) (a) The defense of insanity may only be raised by a specific plea entered at the time of arraignment; except that the court, for good cause shown, may permit the plea to be entered at any time prior to trial. The form of the plea is: Not guilty by reason of insanity; and it m…

(1) If the defendant intends to assert the affirmative defense of impaired mental condition, the defendant shall indicate that intention to the court and to the prosecution at the time of arraignment; except that the court, for good cause shown, shall permit the defendant to info…

(1) (a) A defendant who places the defendant's mental condition at issue by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity pursuant to section 16-8-103, or asserting the affirmative defense of impaired mental condition pursuant to section 16-8-103.5, or disclosing witnesses who may pr…

(1) (a) When, at the time of arraignment, the defense of insanity is raised pursuant to section 16-8-103, and the defendant asserts the defendant’s intention to raise the affirmative defense of impaired mental condition pursuant to section 16-8-103.5, the court shall order one ex…

The issues raised by the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity must be tried separately to different juries, and the sanity of the defendant must be tried first. This section applies to offenses committed before July 1, 1995. Source: L. 72: R&RE, p. 226, � 1. C.R.S. 1963: � 39…

(1) The issues raised by the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity must be treated as an affirmative defense and must be tried at the same proceeding and before the same trier of fact as the charges to which not guilty by reason of insanity is offered as a defense. (2) This se…

(1) When a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity is accepted, the court shall forthwith order the defendant to undergo a sanity examination, specifying the place where the examination must be conducted. (2) Upon receiving the report of the sanity examination, the court shall i…

(1) (a) When a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity is accepted, the court shall forthwith order the defendant to undergo a sanity examination, specifying where the examination must be conducted. The court, in consultation with the department of human services and the parties…

(1) (a) All examinations ordered by the court in criminal cases must be accomplished by the entry of an order of the court specifying the place where the examination is to be conducted and the period of time allocated for the examination. The defendant may be committed for the ex…

C.R.S. 16-8-106.5Statutes current through Chapter 65 of the 2026 Regular Session, effective as of April 20, 2026. The text of this section is not final. It will not be final until compared to, and updated from, the text provided by the Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Service…

(1) (a) Except as provided in this subsection (1), evidence acquired directly or indirectly for the first time from a communication derived from the defendant's mental processes during the course of a court-ordered examination pursuant to section 16-8-106 or acquired pursuant to …

(1) (a) If the defendant wishes to be examined by a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other expert of the defendant's own choice in connection with any proceeding under this article 8, the court, upon timely motion, shall order that the examiner chosen by the defendant be given reas…

In any trial or hearing in which the defendant's mental condition is an issue, a witness not specially trained in psychiatry or psychology may testify as to the witness's observation of the defendant's actions and conduct, and as to conversations that the witness has had with the…

C.R.S. 16-8-110Statutes current through Chapter 65 of the 2026 Regular Session, effective as of April 20, 2026. The text of this section is not final. It will not be final until compared to, and updated from, the text provided by the Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services …

Source: L. 72: R&RE, p. 229, � 1. C.R.S. 1963: � 39-8-111. L. 2001: (1) amended and (4) added, p. 407, � 4, effective April 19. L. 2006: (1) amended and (3.5) added, p. 178, � 2, effective March 31. L. 2008: Entire section repealed, p. 1856, � 9, effective July 1. Editor's note: …

C.R.S. 16-8-112Statutes current through Chapter 65 of the 2026 Regular Session, effective as of April 20, 2026. The text of this section is not final. It will not be final until compared to, and updated from, the text provided by the Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services …

Source: L. 72: R&RE, p. 230, � 1. C.R.S. 1963: � 39-8-113. L. 2009: Entire section repealed, (HB 09-1253), ch. 128, p. 552, � 4, effective August 5.

(1) and (2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2008, p. 1857, � 11, effective July 1, 2008.) (3) (a) Evidence of any determination as to the defendant's competency or incompetency is not admissible on the issues raised by the pleas of not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity or the …

Source: L. 81: Entire section added, p. 937, � 3, effective January 1, 1982. L. 89: (2) amended, p. 867, � 1, effective April 27. L. 90: (1) amended, p. 954, � 20, effective June 7. L. 94: (1) amended, p. 2649, � 120, effective July 1. L. 2007: (2) amended, p. 1756, � 1, effectiv…

(1) (a) (I) Upon an initial commitment following a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity pursuant to section 16-8-105.5 (4)(b), or upon delaying final entry of the finding of not guilty by reason of insanity pursuant to section 16-8-105.5 (4)(a), the court shall schedule an…

(1) The terms and conditions imposed upon a defendant’s release pursuant to section 16-8-115 (3) or (4) may be enforced as are any other orders of court. (2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 94, p. 1423, §2, effective July 1, 1994.) (3) Whenever the director of forensic services in the …

(1) After a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity, when the chief officer of the hospital where a defendant has been committed, or the chief officer's designee, or the director of forensic services in the department of human services, or the director's designee, who has bee…

When a determination is to be made as to a defendant's eligibility for release, the court shall explain to the defendant the nature and consequences of the proceeding and the rights of the defendant pursuant to this section, including the defendant's right to a jury trial upon th…

(1) The chief officer of the institution where a defendant has been committed under this article 8 or article 8.5 of this title 16, or the chief officer's designee, may authorize treatment and rehabilitation activities involving temporary physical removal of the defendant from th…

In all proceedings brought pursuant to this article 8, upon motion of the defendant and proof that the defendant is indigent and without funds to employ physicians, psychologists, or attorneys to which the defendant is entitled under this article 8, the court shall appoint the ph…

(1) As to any person charged with any crime allegedly committed on or after June 2, 1965, the test for determination of a defendant's sanity for release from commitment, or the defendant's eligibility for conditional release, is: That the defendant has no abnormal mental conditio…

(1) If any defendant, confined in an institution for the care and treatment of persons with behavioral or mental health disorders or intellectual and developmental disabilities under the supervision of the executive director of the department of human services, escapes from the i…

Upon the termination of the period of observation of a defendant committed under section 16-8-106, the authorities shall present to the court their account, evidenced by a statement thereof based upon the established per diem rate of the place of confinement. If approved by the c…