Colorado legal term
Public in Colorado Criminal Law
Current through 2026 Colorado legislative session
In Colorado criminal law, “Public” is a term defined by statute rather than by its everyday meaning. Its statutory definition — quoted verbatim below — controls how the term is applied throughout the Colorado criminal code.
What does “Public” mean in Colorado criminal law?
"Public" means offered or available to the public generally, either free or upon payment of a fare, fee, rate, or tariff, or offered or made available by a school or school district to pupils regularly enrolled in public or nonpublic schools in preschool through grade twelve. (C.R.S. § 18-9-115)
Statutes defining or using this term
Charges using this term
- Theft
- Ammunition sales
- Bias-motivated crimes
- Obstructing highway or other passageway
- Offering a false instrument for recording
- Public buildings
- Second degree burglary
- Unlawful conduct on public property
- Unlawful distribution of a suicide recording
- Unlawfully carrying a weapon
- Abandonment of a motor vehicle
- Abuse of property insurance
Related terms in the same statutes
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.