City Attorney's Office
Reference: Study Session Item to Discuss Amending Section 1-24-10, Related to General Penalties, and Article 9, Related to Criminal Offenses and Penalties, of the Brighton Municipal Code
To: Mayor Gregory Mills and Members of City Council
Through: Michael P. Martinez, City Manager
Prepared By: James Gallagher and Michael Davis, Assistant City Attorneys
Date Prepared: 1/23/2025
PURPOSE
To update sections of the Brighton Municipal Code ("BMC") that no longer reflect current law or that are outdated or incorrect. At a future meeting, the City Council will consider amending Section 1-24-10 of BMC related to general penalties and Article 9 of the BMC related to criminal offenses and penalties.
BACKGROUND
On December 22, 2025, in In re People v. Camp, 2025 CO 64 (Colo. 2025), the Colorado Supreme Court held that while offenders may be prosecuted in municipal court for offenses that have comparable state offenses, municipalities may not impose penalties that exceed the maximum penalties authorized under state law for the comparable state offenses. The court's decision establishes a limitation on the exercise of home rule municipal authority.
The City prosecutes municipal crimes and the Municipal Court sentences offenders under the general penalty section of the BMC that allows for incarceration up to 364 days and/or a fine of $2,650 dollars. For certain state crimes where the elements of the state crime match the elements of the same crime in the BMC, the City penalty exceeds the penalty that a defendant would receive for the same crime if charged in a state court. For example, a defendant who commits a petty offense and is charged in County Court can receive a maximum sentence of 10 days in jail and/or a $300 dollar fine. The same person committing the same crime can be charged in Brighton Municipal Court could be sentenced to 364 days in jail and fined up to $2,650 dollars. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that such discrepancies are prohi...
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