BILL TRACKER: HB21-1280 passed both houses! 🎉 On to Polis’s desk!
Justice delayed is justice denied.
BRING OUR NEIGHBORS HOME WITH HB21-1280
Presumptively innocent people languish in Colorado’s jails waiting for bond setting while families struggle to navigate the bureaucracy of posting bond. HB21-1280 will ensure prompt access to justice for people who are legally innocent.
People arrested in Colorado can wait up to 15 days before seeing a judge for a bond setting.
Despite the Due Process Clause in the U.S. Constitution that requires bond setting within 48 hours of arrest, newly arrested people in Colorado often wait in a cell 3-15 days before seeing a judge for bond setting. They risk their jobs, their housing and custody of their children. Coloradans like Michelle Reynolds are being unjustly held in pre-trial detention for weeks, even months. Read her story on The Denver Channel.
“My first four days were horrific. I was physically assaulted and emotionally traumatized by another inmate. For the next 11 days I didn’t know what was going to happen to me. I had no information as to why I was arrested. No idea what was happening.”
Prompt bond setting is feasible.
Colorado counties already hold weekend court – Weld, Jefferson and Denver.
At least 7 states and Washington D.C. require bond setting within 48 hours of arrest.
HB21-1280 allows for delayed implementation to ease the transition.
Underfunded counties have a low-cost option.
HB21-1280 funds a bond hearing officer with statewide jurisdiction to hold weekend bond hearings by videoconference for counties that choose this remote option.
A system that operates 24/7 to arrest people must provide prompt access to justice for people who are legally innocent.
About HB21-1280
HB21-1280 requires bond setting within 48 hours of arrest while offsetting costs for underfunded counties and improving the bond payment process.
✓ Requires bond setting hearing within 48 hours after an arrestee's arrival at a jail.
✓ Ensures prompt and fair pretrial liberty:
✓ Ensures release from custody within 6 hours after bond is set.
✓ Requires clear notice of rights regarding bond payment and release procedures.
✓ Includes a reporting requirement to ensure compliance with law.
Support for HB21-1280
ACLU Colorado
CAAPV
CCDB
Canna-Patient Resource Connection
Colorado-CURE
Colorado Freedom Fund
Colorado Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel
Colorado Lawyers Committee
Colorado Juvenile Defender Center
Denver Justice Project
Frank Law Office LLC
Heddels
Indivisible Front Range Resistance
Indivisible Denver
Indivisible Colorado
Indivisible CO7
Interfaith Alliance
ICA
JeffcoCAN
Law Enforcement Action Partnership
Mulligan Breit McConnell, LLC
New Era Colorado
NAACP CO-MT-WY
OADC
One Colorado
OSPD
Reduction Action Center
RMIAN
Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network
Sam Cary Bar
Soul 2 Soul Sisters
The Marigold Project
West Metro Resistance
Young Invincibles
WE ❤️ COALITION BUILDING
We are stronger together. Connect with us, and let’s work together to protect our most vulnerable neighbors in Colorado from the harms of over-policing, racialized policing, and incarceration.