Colo. Const. art. II § 16a Rights of Crime Victims

• Library: Colorado Constitution
• Currency: Current through 11/8/2022 Election
• Citation: Colo. Const. art. II § 16a

Any person who is a victim of a criminal act, or such person's designee, legal guardian, or surviving immediate family members if such person is deceased, shall have the right to be heard when relevant, informed, and present at all critical stages of the criminal justice process. All terminology, including the term "critical stages", shall be defined by the general assembly.

Cite as Colo. Const. art. II § 16a

Source:

L. 91: Entire section added, p. 2031, effective upon proclamation of the Governor, L. 93, p. 2155, January 14, 1993.

ANNOTATION

It is within the general assembly's discretion to define the technical or special terminology included in this section, including "critical stages" and "right to be heard". People v. Herron, 874 P.2d 435 (Colo. App. 1993).

This section does not grant a victim the right to challenge a district attorney's decision to dismiss charges by appealing the trial court's order of dismissal since the general assembly did not include that right in defining victims' rights in § 24-4.1-302.5. People v. Herron, 874 P.2d 435 (Colo. App. 1993).