Colorado Sexual Assault Statute of Limitations: How Timing Affects Prosecution
October 19, 2026
Violating a Colorado protection order can trigger a new criminal charge and contempt proceedings in the same court, and any new sentence must be served back-to-back with the sentence you were already facing, not at the same time. That means a single phone call, text message, or chance encounter can double your exposure while you are still on bond or probation. Denver criminal defense attorneys at the Law Office of Jacob Martinez have defended clients against these charges across Colorado [...]
Restraining orders play a crucial role in protecting individuals from harm and ensuring their safety in Colorado. These legal orders can provide necessary safeguards in situations involving domestic violence, harassment, stalking, or other forms of threatening behavior. Understanding the different types of restraining orders available in Colorado, their specific criteria, and implications is essential for both petitioners seeking protection and respondents facing allegations. This blog explores the various types of restraining orders in Colorado and the importance of seeking legal [...]
Restraining orders, commonly known as protection orders in Colorado, serve as valuable tools to protect individuals from threats, harassment, or violence. However, there are instances where restraining orders are issued unjustly or based on false allegations.
If you find yourself facing an unjust restraining order in Colorado, it’s essential to understand your legal remedies and the steps you can take to challenge it. In this blog, we will delve into the process of challenging restraining orders that may have [...]
Many people think of protective orders and restraining orders as interchangeable. The truth is that they are two very different things in Colorado.
Here’s what you need to know about these two distinct orders, how they’re different, and what happens if one is violated.
Colorado Restraining OrdersRestraining orders are court-issued. They demand that a person suspected of domestic abuse or violence avoid contact with a victim.
What a Restraining Order IsAnyone who fears for their safety can ask [...]
This question has a simple answer. There is no difference in Colorado.
Protective orders, also commonly referred to as restraining orders, are intended to stop one person from harming another. It’s also referred to as a protection order. Therefore, we will use these three terms interchangeably.
Unfortunately, answering many of the other questions surrounding these orders isn’t so simple.
How do protective orders work? What are the terms of a protective order, and what happens if you violate one? If [...]
There is no single statute of limitations that applies to every Colorado sexual assault or sex crime allegation. Depending on the exact charge, the alleged victim’s age, when the conduct allegedly occurred, whether DNA evidence identifies a suspect, when the offense was reported, and whether the accused spent time outside Colorado, prosecutors may have 20 years, a different statutory period, or no time limit at all.
Those distinctions matter most when an allegation surfaces years or even decades after the [...]
Extradition is about where a criminal case will be handled—not whether the person is guilty. If someone is arrested in Colorado on another state’s warrant, the immediate questions are usually whether to waive extradition, whether bail is available, how long the process may take, and what can actually be challenged before the person is returned.
The same issue can run in the other direction. A person may be arrested in another state because Colorado issued the warrant. In that situation, [...]
A confidential informant almost never speaks to the judge who signs the warrant. Instead, the judge reads a detective’s sworn summary of what an unnamed person allegedly said. That gap can become one of the most important issues in a Denver drug, weapons, theft, or other criminal case.
The defense does not cross-examine the informant when the warrant is issued. At that stage, the focus is on the affidavit itself: what the informant allegedly knew, how police verified the information, [...]