42-4-1715. Convictions, judgments, and charges recorded - public inspection.

Statute text

(1) (a) Every judge of a court not of record and every clerk of a court of record shall keep a full record of every case in which a person is charged with any violation of this article or any other law regulating the operation of vehicles on highways.

(b) (I) Upon application by a person, the court shall expunge all records concerning a conviction of the person for UDD with a BAC of at least 0.02 but not more than 0.05 if:

(A) Such person presents a request for expungement to the court and provides all information required by the court to process such request;

(B) Such person is over twenty-one years of age and the court action regarding the offense has been concluded;

(C) The person has not been convicted for any other offense under section 42-4-1301 that was committed while such person was under twenty-one years of age;

(D) Such person pays the fine and surcharge for such conviction and completes any other requirements of the court with regard to such conviction, including, but not limited to, any order to pay restitution to any party;

(E) Such person has never held a commercial driver's license as defined in section 42-2-402; and

(F) Such person was not operating a commercial motor vehicle as defined in section 42-2-402.

(II) Upon receiving a request for expungement, the court may delay consideration of such request until sufficient time has elapsed to ensure that the person is not convicted for any additional offense of DUI, DUI per se, DWAI, or UDD committed while the person was under twenty-one years of age.

(2) (a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection (2), within ten days after the entry of a judgment, conviction, or forfeiture of bail of a person upon a charge of violating this article or other law regulating the operation of vehicles on highways, the judge or clerk of the court in which the entry of a judgment was made, the conviction was had, or bail was forfeited shall prepare and forward to the department an abstract of the record of the court covering every case in which the person had a judgment entered against him or her, was convicted, or forfeited bail, which abstract shall be certified by the preparer to be true and correct.

(b) For the holder of a commercial driver's license as defined in section 42-2-402 or an offense committed by a person operating a commercial motor vehicle as defined in section 42-2-402, within five days after conviction of a person upon a charge of violating this article or other law regulating the operation of vehicles on highways, the judge or clerk of the court in which the person was convicted shall prepare and forward to the department an abstract of the record of the court covering every case in which the person was convicted, which abstract shall be certified by the preparer to be true and correct.

(3) Said abstract must be made upon a form furnished by the department and shall include the name, address, and driver's license number of the party charged, the registration number of the vehicle involved, the nature of the offense, the date of hearing, the plea, the judgment or whether bail forfeited, and the amount of the fine or forfeiture.

(4) (a) Every court of record shall also forward a like report to the department:

(I) Upon the conviction of any person of vehicular homicide or any other felony in the commission of which a vehicle was used; and

(II) Upon the dismissal of a charge for DUI, DUI per se, DWAI, or UDD or if the original charge was for DUI, DUI per se, DWAI, or UDD and the conviction was for a nonalcohol- or nondrug-related traffic offense.

(b) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2008, p. 475, 6, effective July 1, 2008.)

(5) The department shall keep all abstracts received under this section, as well as a record of penalty assessments received, at the main office, and the same shall be public records and subject to the provisions of section 42-1-206.

History

Source: L. 94: Entire title amended with relocations, p. 2425, 1, effective January 1, 1995. L. 97: (1) amended, p. 1469, 15, effective July 1. L. 98: IP(1)(b)(I) amended, p. 176, 7, effective April 6. L. 2008: IP(1)(b)(I), (1)(b)(II), and (4)(a)(II) amended, p. 253, 23, effective July 1; (1)(b)(I)(E) and (1)(b)(I)(F) added and (2) and (4)(b) amended, pp. 474, 475, 5, 6, effective July 1. L. 2013: (1)(b)(II) and (4)(a)(II) amended, (HB 13-1325), ch. 331, p. 1887, 18, effective May 28.

Annotations

Editor's note: This section is similar to former 42-4-1510 as it existed prior to 1994.

Annotations

Cross references: For vehicular homicide, see 18-3-106.

Annotations

 

ANNOTATION

Annotations

Annotator's note. Since 42-4-1715 is similar to 42-4-1510 as it existed prior to the 1994 of title 42 as enacted by SB 94-1, a relevant case construing that provision has been included with the annotations to this section.

"[E]xpunge all records concerning a conviction of the person for UDD", as that phrase is used in subsection (1)(b)(I), means to strike out, obliterate, or mark for deletion all references to petitioner's arrest for UDD, the institution and prosecution of UDD charges against the petitioner, and the petitioner's conviction therefor. People v. Connors, 230 P.3d 1265 (Colo. App. 2010).

Subsection (1)(b)(I) does not provide for the expungement of non-UDD charges, even if such charges were brought at the same time or in the same document as the UDD charge. People v. Connors, 230 P.3d 1265 (Colo. App. 2010).

"Expunge", as used in subsection (1)(b)(I), does not require expungement of records concerning non-UDD charges when such charges are brought along with the UDD charge. Thus, it was error for magistrate to expunge pursuant to subsection (1)(b)(I) two charges for possession of a controlled substance. People v. Connors, 230 P.3d 1265 (Colo. App. 2010).

Department's driving records are presumed correct. The mere absence of any notation on traffic tickets concerning their disposition does not overcome the presumption of correctness of the department's driving records. A driving record is prima facie proof of its contents, including convictions, without the necessity of looking behind the records to the underlying tickets. People v. Anadale, 674 P.2d 372 (Colo. 1984).