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Statutes of Limitation

The Law: Colorado Revised Statute: CRS 16-5-401.

Limitation for Commencing Criminal Proceedings in Colorado
    1. Except as otherwise provided by statute applicable to specific offenses or circumstances, no person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offense unless the indictment, information, or complaint is filed in a court of competent jurisdiction or a summons and complaint or penalty assessment notice is served upon the defendant within the period of time after the commission of the offense as specified below:

Murder, kidnapping, treason, and any forgery regardless of the penalty provided

No limit

Attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit murder;
attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit kidnapping;
attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit treason; and
attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any forgery regardless of the penalty provided

No limit

Other felonies

Three years

Misdemeanors – including DUI, DWAI, DEAC

Eighteen months

Class 1 and 2 misdemeanor traffic offenses

One year

Petty offenses

Six months

  1. The time limitations imposed by this section shall be tolled if the adult offender or juvenile is absent from the state of Colorado, and the duration of such absence, not to exceed five years, shall be excluded from the computation of the time within which any complaint, information, indictment, or petition in delinquency must otherwise be filed or returned.
  2. The period within which a prosecution must be commenced does not include any period in which a prosecution is pending against the adult defendant or juvenile for the same conduct, even if the indictment, information, complaint, or petition in delinquency which commences the prosecution is quashed or the proceedings thereon are set aside or are reversed on appeal.
  3. When an offense or delinquent act is based on a series of acts performed at different times, the period of limitation prescribed by this code starts at the time when the last act in the series of acts is committed.

Other provisions omitted as irrelevant.

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