Police questioning and juvenile court in Colorado: the parent-in-the-room rule

In Colorado, anyone under 18 is a juvenile, and juvenile court has jurisdiction, meaning the power to hear the case, over a juvenile who is 10 or older and breaks a state or federal law, certain alcohol or marijuana laws, or a city ordinance that can carry more than ten days in jail. Minor traffic offenses are handled elsewhere. The Office of Legislative Legal Services, the legislature's own lawyers, publishes a short memo called When a Child Can Be Tried as an Adult that lays this out.

There are two doors to adult (district) court. The first is direct file: the district attorney can charge a juvenile who was 16 or older at the time of the offense directly in district court, but only for a class 1 or 2 felony, certain sexual assaults, or a violent felony when the juvenile already has a prior felony adjudication or a prior direct-file or transfer case. A juvenile who is direct-filed can ask for a reverse-transfer hearing to send the case back. The second door is transfer: the juvenile court itself can transfer a case after an investigation and a hearing, at 12 or 13 for a class 1 or 2 felony or a crime of violence, and at 14 or older for any felony. Twelve is the youngest age at which a child can be tried as an adult in Colorado.

In 1967, in In re Gault, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that a young person in juvenile court has the right to notice of the charges, a lawyer, and the chance to question witnesses, because juvenile court can take away freedom too. Colorado adds a rule about the police station itself.

Section 19-2.5-203 of the Children's Code bars a court from using any statement a juvenile made during custodial interrogation (questioning while not free to leave) unless a parent, guardian, or legal custodian was present. The juvenile and the parent can waive that presence, but only in writing and only after both have been fully advised of the juvenile's rights. A county human services department that is the custodian cannot waive it. In February 2025, in People in Interest of L.E.R-N., the Colorado Court of Appeals held that the statute requires the parent to be physically present, not necessarily paying attention, so a mother who took a phone call during the questioning still counted. The lesson from that case is practical: the parent in the room should put the phone down and listen.

Colorado uses the word expungement for juvenile records: after the court orders it, the records are treated as if they never existed and you may lawfully say you were never arrested, charged, or adjudicated in that case. The Colorado Judicial Branch's instruction sheet JDF 301 explains who qualifies. You can petition within 42 days after being found not guilty, after the petition is dismissed, or after finishing a sentence or diversion for a petty offense or a low-level misdemeanor. Other cases require the court to give notice and hold a hearing on objections first. Some adjudications, including sexual felonies and aggravated or violent juvenile offender findings, cannot be expunged. The petition is form JDF 302, filed in the court that handled the case.

Curfews are a different layer. Colorado's statutes do not set a statewide youth curfew that this article could find; curfews come from city and county ordinances, so the hours in Pueblo and the hours in Lakewood are set by different councils. Look up your own city's ordinance and its exceptions for work and school events.