Colorado statute
C.R.S. § 16-7-202 — Presence of defendant.
Current through 2025 Regular Session
Part of Part 2: ARRAIGNMENT, Colorado Revised Statutes.
Full text of C.R.S. § 16-7-202
Statutory text current through the 2025 Regular Session. This is an officially sanctioned publication using the official text of the Colorado Revised Statutes; it is not the official statutes of the State of Colorado.
(1) If the offense charged is a felony, a level 1 drug misdemeanor, or a class 1 misdemeanor or if the maximum penalty for the offense charged is more than one year's imprisonment, the defendant must be personally present for arraignment; except that the court, for good cause shown, may accept a plea of not guilty made by an attorney representing the defendant without requiring the defendant to be personally present. In all prosecutions for lesser offenses, the defendant may appear by his or her attorney who may enter a plea on his or her behalf. If the defendant appears personally for a charge that is not in title 42, the court may advise the defendant of the possibility that restorative justice practices may be part of a sentence, if available in the jurisdiction. (2) If a plea of guilty or nolo contendere (no contest) is entered by counsel in the absence of the defendant, the court may command the appearance of the defendant in person for the imposition of sentence.
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