Currently in Denver, people can face months in jail for relatively low-level municipal offenses.

But now, Denver City Council members are crafting legislation aimed not only at aligning municipal penalties with state law but also to “stop criminalizing poverty.”

The Colorado Supreme Court recently ruled that municipalities may not impose sentences harsher under their own ordinances than for identical offenses under state law.

Under the proposed legislation, the bill sponsors seek to amend the city code so that sentences match those for equivalent state offenses and cap municipal offenses at the state petty offense level.

Sponsors Sarady Parady, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, and Shontel Lewis, all Denver City Council members, told members of the city’s Budget and Policy Committee on Monday that, as it stands, people in Denver face jail sentences up to 30 times higher than what is allowed by state law.

Approximately 75% of those charged in Denver municipal courts fall at or below the federal poverty line, and jail sentences in some cases can carry “enormous consequences” for those charged.

In a community email, Parady argues that “poor and working-class residents are disproportionately charged with low-level offenses like trespass, camping, and disturbing the peace — offenses that can carry months-long jail sentences at the local level.”

For example, stealing a loaf of bread has been punishable in municipal court for up to 300 days in jail, while under state law, the same conduct is capped at just 10 days. For (illegal) camping, an off-leash dog, or minor property damage, Denver residents can face 60 to 300 days behind bars.

Proponents argue that incarcerations that exceed 30 days can lead to the suspension of Social Security benefits, loss of housing, loss of employment, inability to care for children, and, for immigrants, deportation.

PROPOSED LEGISLATION

While no action has been taken on the proposed legislation, city legal experts have concerns, describing the city’s code on the matter as “massive.”

“I feel this is rushed,” Marley Bordovsky of the Denver city attorney’s office said. “I still have some concerns about some feedback that was not incorporated, and the impact that this has, particularly on our domestic violence cases.”

Amid the changes, the sponsors want to keep stronger penalties for assault and threats and would rewrite definitions of those offenses to match tougher state offenses, which would let Denver still seek up to 300 days in jail and a $999 fine in such cases.

Mandatory fines for prostitution, under the proposed legislation, would be eliminated, as prescribed by state law.

Currently, Denver’s prostitution ordinance imposes mandatory fines for
prostitution: $500 for a first offense, $750 for a second offense within
5 years, and $999 for a third or subsequent offense.

These fines are imposed on some of Denver’s poorest defendants, sponsors said, and there are no mandatory fines for prostitution under state law. Their
mandatory nature makes it harder to use diversionary tools.

This bill would better align Denver’s sentences for prostitution with state
law by eliminating these mandatory fines. Instead, judges will have
discretion to decide whether they want to impose a fine for each
offense, and the maximum fine allowed would be the standard $300.

Discussion of the proposed bill will continue in a future Health and Safety Committee meeting.