Statewide Grand Juries

C.R.S. tit. 13, art. 73
in effect

C.R.S. § 13-73-101 Petition for impaneling - determination by chief judge

13-73-101. Petition for impaneling - determination by chief judge. (1) The general assembly finds that the state grand jury exists because of the need to investigate and prosecute crime without regard to county or judicial district boundaries in cases involving organized crime, criminal activity in more than one judicial district, or unusual difficulties in the investigation or adjudication of a matter or cases in which the attorney general has authority to prosecute. The state grand jury is intended, therefore, to be a law enforcement tool with statewide jurisdiction. (2) When the attorney general deems it to be in the public interest to convene a grand jury that has jurisdiction extending beyond the boundaries of any single county, the attorney general may petition the chief judge of any district court for an order in accordance with the provisions of this article. Said chief judge may, for good cause shown, order the impaneling of a state grand jury that shall have statewide jurisdiction. In making a determination as to the need for impaneling a state grand jury, the judge shall require a showing that the matter cannot be effectively handled by a grand jury impaneled pursuant to article 72 or 74 of this title, such grand juries being referred to in this article as a "county grand jury" or a "judicial district grand jury", respectively.

C.R.S. § 13-73-102 Powers and duties - applicable law - rules and regulations

13-73-102. Powers and duties - applicable law - rules and regulations. A state grand jury shall have the same powers and duties and shall function in the same manner as a county grand jury, except that its jurisdiction shall extend throughout the state. The law applicable to county grand juries shall apply to state grand juries except when such law is inconsistent with the provisions of this article. The supreme court may promulgate such procedural rules as it deems necessary to govern the procedures of state grand juries.

C.R.S. § 13-73-103 List of prospective jurors - selection - membership - term

13-73-103. List of prospective jurors - selection - membership - term. The state court administrator, upon receipt of an order of a chief judge of the district court granting a petition to impanel a state grand jury, shall prepare a list of prospective state grand jurors drawn from existing jury lists of the several counties. In preparing the list of prospective state grand jurors, the state court administrator need not include names of jurors from every county within the state, but the state court administrator may select jurors from counties near the county in which the chief judge requesting the list presides. The chief judge granting the order shall impanel the state grand jury from the list compiled by the state court administrator. A state grand jury shall be composed of twelve or twenty-three members, as provided in section 13-72-102, but not more than one-fourth of the members of the state grand jury shall be residents of any one county. The members of the state grand jury shall be selected by the chief judge with the advice of the attorney general. The chief judge may close to the public part or all of the selection process when reasonably necessary to protect the grand jury process or the security of the grand jurors. The length of term served by a state grand jury shall be as provided in section 13-71-120. The court, upon its own motion or at the request of the attorney general, shall enter an order to preserve the confidentiality of all information that might identify state grand jurors when reasonably necessary to protect the state grand jury process or the security of the state grand jurors. In the absence of such an order, upon request, the state court administrator shall make available for inspection by members of the public a list of state grand jurors containing only the state grand jurors' names and juror numbers.

C.R.S. § 13-73-104 Summoning of jurors

13-73-104. Summoning of jurors. The jury commissioner of the court in which the petition for impaneling the state grand jury is filed shall cause said prospective jurors to be summoned for service in the manner provided in section 13-71-110.

C.R.S. § 13-73-105 Judicial supervision

13-73-105. Judicial supervision. Judicial supervision of the state grand jury shall be maintained by the chief judge who issued the order impaneling such grand jury, and all indictments, reports, and other formal returns of any kind made by such grand jury shall be returned to that judge.

C.R.S. § 13-73-106 Presentation of evidence

13-73-106. Presentation of evidence. The presentation of the evidence must be made to the state grand jury by the attorney general or his or her designee.

C.R.S. § 13-73-107 Return of indictment or presentment - designation of venue - consolidation of indictments - sealing of indictment

13-73-107. Return of indictment or presentment - designation of venue - consolidation of indictments - sealing of indictment. (1) Any indictment by a state grand jury shall be returned to the chief judge who is supervising the statewide grand jury without any designation of venue. Thereupon, the chief judge shall, by order, designate any county in the state as the county of venue for the purpose of trial. Once venue is designated by the chief judge, a change of venue may be granted only as provided by article 6 of title 16, C.R.S. The chief judge may, by order, direct the consolidation of an indictment returned by a county grand jury with an indictment returned by a state grand jury and fix venue for trial. (2) The court, upon motion of the attorney general, shall order the indictment to be sealed and no person may disclose the existence of the indictment until the defendant is in custody or has been admitted to bail except when necessary for the issuance or execution of a warrant or summons.

C.R.S. § 13-73-108 Costs and expenses

13-73-108. Costs and expenses. The costs and expenses incurred in impaneling a state grand jury and in the performance of its functions and duties shall be paid by the state out of funds appropriated to the judicial department.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-13.docxFetched: 10/6/2026