Key Takeaways
Whether domestic violence is a felony or misdemeanor depends on the underlying charge, not the domestic violence label itself. Colorado treats domestic violence as an enhancer attached to another crime, so the same shove can be a class 1 misdemeanor in one case and a class 4 felony in another.
The difference usually comes down to the injury alleged, whether a weapon was involved, and what appears in your record. You may already be out on bond, barred from your own home, and unsure what level of charge you face.
At Liberty Law Center, we defend people accused of domestic violence in Colorado Springs, and we start by pinning down exactly what the prosecution must prove. Our team can review the arrest report with you and explain where your case stands.
Colorado law defines domestic violence as an act or threatened act of violence against a person with whom you are or were in an intimate relationship.
The definition in C.R.S. 18-6-800.3 also covers any crime against a person, property, or animal used to coerce, control, punish, intimidate, or take revenge on an intimate partner. Prosecutors file assault, harassment, or criminal mischief and add the domestic violence designation.
If you punch a stranger in a bar and cause a bruise, you face third-degree assault. If you cause the same bruise to your spouse, you face third-degree assault with a domestic violence enhancer, and the enhancer changes what happens at sentencing.
The statute limits intimate relationships to spouses, former spouses, past or present unmarried couples, and people who share a child. Whether the couple ever lived together does not matter.
Roommates, siblings, and parents fall outside the definition. We often challenge the enhancer itself when the prosecution stretches a brief dating history into a relationship the facts do not support.
Under C.R.S. 18-6-801, a conviction with a domestic violence finding requires a treatment evaluation and a treatment program approved by the Domestic Violence Offender Management Board. The court must also address firearm relinquishment.
The same statute restricts plea bargaining. A prosecutor cannot let you plead to a charge without the designation unless they state on the record that they could not prove the intimate relationship.
Most domestic violence cases in Colorado start as misdemeanors. Since March 2022, Colorado has only two misdemeanor classes for general offenses, and misdemeanor cases are filed in county court.
Several underlying charges appear again and again in misdemeanor domestic violence cases:
Each of these charges can be filed with the enhancer, and each carries the added treatment and firearm consequences described above.
Under C.R.S. 18-1.3-501, a class 1 misdemeanor carries up to 364 days in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000. A class 2 misdemeanor carries up to 120 days in county jail and a fine of up to $750.
Probation may be available in some first-offense misdemeanor cases, with conditions that can include treatment, no-contact restrictions, and other court-ordered requirements.
A domestic violence case becomes a felony when the underlying offense is itself a felony or when the habitual offender law applies. Felony cases are filed in district court and carry prison exposure rather than county jail. We review the police report and medical records immediately to test whether the facts support the felony the district attorney filed.
Second-degree assault under C.R.S. 18-3-203 covers intentionally causing serious bodily injury, or causing any bodily injury with a deadly weapon. It is a class 4 felony with a presumptive range of two to six years in the Colorado Department of Corrections under C.R.S. 18-1.3-401.
Serious bodily injury means injury that carries a substantial risk of death, permanent disfigurement, or long-term loss of function. A fractured bone or a concussion often moves a case from third-degree to second-degree assault. First-degree assault under C.R.S. 18-3-202 is a class 3 felony and a crime of violence with mandatory prison time.
Colorado's second-degree assault statute covers certain strangulation conduct when a person, with intent to cause bodily injury, applies sufficient pressure to restrict breathing or blood circulation or blocks the nose or mouth and thereby causes bodily injury.
We examine witness statements, medical records, photographs, body camera footage, and other evidence to determine whether the prosecution can prove each required element.
Menacing becomes a class 5 felony under C.R.S. 18-3-206 when you use, display, or represent that you have a deadly weapon. A kitchen knife picked up during an argument can turn a misdemeanor threat into a felony with a presumptive range of one to three years in prison. A deadly weapon does not have to be a gun.
Stalking under C.R.S. 18-3-602 is always a felony. A first offense is a class 5 felony, and it rises to a class 4 felony if you have a prior stalking conviction or an active protection order covering the same person.
Repeated texts or showing up at a former partner's workplace can be charged as stalking when paired with a credible threat. Violating the protection order adds a separate charge that must run consecutively to any other sentence.
Colorado's habitual domestic violence offender statute is the most common way a minor incident becomes a felony. Under C.R.S. 18-6-801(7), any misdemeanor with a domestic violence finding becomes a class 5 felony if you have three or more prior convictions that included an act of domestic violence.
The priors must come from separate cases, but they do not have to be serious. A municipal harassment plea from 15 years ago counts the same as a felony assault. A fourth offense exposes you to one to three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
If you are facing a domestic violence charge, call Liberty Law Center at 719-578-1183 before you speak with investigators. We can tell you quickly whether the prosecution has the priors and the evidence to support the level they filed.
Several laws outside the assault statutes explain why domestic violence arrests move so quickly and follow people for so long.
Colorado is a mandatory arrest state. Under C.R.S. 18-6-803.6, an officer who finds probable cause that a domestic violence offense occurred must arrest the suspect without delay, even if the other person asks them not to.
The statute does not require officers to arrest both people when each claims to be the injured party. In practice, officers often arrest the person who appears less injured, which is why the first statements at the scene matter.
A qualifying misdemeanor crime of domestic violence can trigger a federal firearm prohibition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), subject to statutory exceptions and restoration provisions.
The ban reaches hunting rifles, service weapons, and guns kept for home defense. Colorado adds its own relinquishment requirement under C.R.S. 18-6-801(8), which requires you to surrender firearms and ammunition and prove compliance after sentencing.
Colorado law generally bars sealing convictions that include a domestic violence factual basis. The legislature closed the municipal court loophole in 2016 through HB16-1115, and state court domestic violence convictions face similar restrictions.
That means a class 2 misdemeanor harassment conviction can stay visible to employers and landlords for life.
The charge level is set early. The following steps show how a case typically moves through El Paso County:
Each step offers a chance to attack the charge level, and the earlier we get involved, the more options remain.
Our team treats the classification as a contested issue, not a settled fact, and we push back with evidence the police report leaves out.
Several strategies apply directly to the charge level:
When a challenge succeeds, a felony may be reduced to a misdemeanor or dismissed, though every case turns on its own facts.
Yes. If the underlying offense is a felony, such as second-degree assault or stalking, the charge is a felony regardless of your record.
Strangulation is charged as second-degree assault, a class 4 felony. We challenge whether the evidence actually shows pressure applied with intent to cause injury.
Yes, a qualifying misdemeanor domestic violence conviction can restrict your firearm rights under federal law. However, the prohibition is not necessarily permanent in every case because federal law provides limited exceptions and restoration provisions.
No. Only the district attorney can dismiss a case, and prosecutors often proceed using 911 calls, photographs, and officer testimony even when the accuser recants.
Three. A fourth misdemeanor with a domestic violence finding becomes a class 5 felony under C.R.S. 18-6-801(7), even for a minor offense.
If you were arrested under Colorado's mandatory arrest law, the charge level was decided before anyone heard your side. Whether domestic violence is a felony or misdemeanor in your case depends on facts the prosecution has only begun to examine, and those facts can be challenged.
At Liberty Law Center, attorney William Beck and our Colorado Springs defense team have spent decades confronting domestic violence allegations in local courts. Our team includes a former prosecutor who understands how charging decisions are made and where they are weakest.
We are available 24/7 and offer a free case evaluation. Call 719-578-1183 or contact us online to speak with a Colorado Springs domestic violence defense attorney today.
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