In re People v. Tafoya
434 P.3d 1193, 2019 CO 13 (2019)
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Rule of Law:
Under Colorado law, a defendant who is in custody and formally accused in a charging document of a class four, five, or six felony is entitled to a preliminary hearing, regardless of whether the felony classification is based on prior convictions.
Facts:
- Deputy Bailey observed a green sedan run a stop sign and initiated a traffic stop.
- The sedan sped away, and after a pursuit, Deputy Bailey identified the car's license plate, which was registered to Elizabeth Tafoya.
- Other deputies saw the car and described the driver as a Hispanic female with curly black hair.
- The driver successfully eluded the officers who had set up a perimeter.
- Later that afternoon, the car was found abandoned in a residential area.
- A search of the car revealed Tafoya's social security card, family photos, and an empty wine glass.
Procedural Posture:
- The Mesa County Sheriff's Office submitted a warrantless arrest affidavit to the court.
- A court found probable cause for the charges listed in the affidavit, and Elizabeth Tafoya was subsequently arrested.
- Tafoya was unable to post bond and remained in custody.
- The prosecution filed a formal complaint and information in the district court, charging Tafoya with DUI as a class four felony, among other counts.
- Tafoya filed a motion requesting a preliminary hearing on the felony DUI charge.
- The prosecution opposed the motion, arguing the DUI was substantively a misdemeanor with a sentence enhancer.
- The district court denied Tafoya's request for a preliminary hearing on the DUI count.
- Tafoya filed a C.A.R. 21 petition asking the Supreme Court of Colorado for review.
- The Supreme Court of Colorado issued a rule to show cause.
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Issue:
Does a defendant who is in custody and formally charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) as a class four felony, based on having three or more prior convictions, have a statutory right to a preliminary hearing on that charge?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice Gabriel
Yes, a defendant in custody and formally accused of a class four felony DUI is entitled to a preliminary hearing. The plain language of section 16-5-301(1)(b)(II) grants a right to a preliminary hearing to any defendant who is 'accused of' a class four felony and is in custody for that offense. The Colorado DUI statute, section 42-4-1301(1)(a), explicitly defines DUI with three or more prior convictions as a class four felony. Because the prosecution's formal complaint accused Tafoya of committing this specific class four felony while she was in custody, she meets the statutory criteria. The court distinguished this case from prior rulings like People v. Garcia, where a felony enhancement arose from a separate habitual offender statute, not from within the definition of the substantive offense itself. The determinative factor is the formal accusation of a qualifying felony, not a judicial inquiry into whether the prior convictions function as elements or sentence enhancers.
Analysis:
This decision clarifies that the statutory right to a preliminary hearing in Colorado is triggered by the face of the charging document. It establishes that when a statute itself defines an offense as a felony based on recidivism (like felony DUI), a defendant formally charged with that offense has an absolute right to a preliminary hearing if in custody. This ruling provides clear guidance to lower courts, which had been split on the issue, and strengthens defendants' procedural rights by ensuring a judicial check for probable cause on felony-level charges, even when those charges are based on prior conduct.
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