If you have been arrested anywhere along Colorado’s Front Range, in a county like Arapahoe, Jefferson, Douglas, or Adams, or in a city like Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Highlands Ranch, Centennial, or Parker, and the paperwork says “domestic violence,” it is natural to look for the statute that defines that crime. You will not find one. There is no Colorado offense called “domestic violence” that a person is charged with on its own. Instead, the label attaches to some other crime and changes how that case is handled, decided, and sentenced. Understanding that distinction is the first step to understanding what you are actually facing.
This article explains what a Colorado domestic violence charge really is, how an ordinary criminal case picks up the domestic violence label, who decides the question, and why that label carries weight far beyond the underlying offense. For related deep dives, see our overview of Colorado domestic violence defense and our article on who decides whether you committed domestic violence in Colorado.
Domestic Violence Is Not a Separate Crime in Colorado
The single most important thing to understand is this: in Colorado, domestic violence is not its own offense. As the Colorado Supreme Court stated plainly, “Domestic violence is not its own separate crime. When the statute’s elements are met, a judge may find that any crime committed by a defendant constitutes domestic violence.” People v. Disher, 224 P.3d 254, 256 (Colo. 2010).
Instead, domestic violence functions as an add-on. “A finding of domestic violence leads to a sentence enhancer” on top of whatever sentence the law already allows for the underlying offense. Id. The statute that does this work is C.R.S. § 18-6-801(1)(a), which provides that, in addition to any sentence imposed for the underlying violation, the enhancer applies to any person convicted of any crime “the underlying factual basis of which has been found by the court on the record to include an act of domestic violence.”
In plain terms: you are charged with a specific crime, and the domestic violence label rides along with it. The label cannot stand on its own; it has to attach to another criminal offense to exist at all. The charge might be harassment, assault, criminal mischief, or one of many others. The domestic violence finding is what the court adds when it concludes that crime was committed against an intimate partner in the manner the statute describes.
The Two Ways an Act Becomes “Domestic Violence”
Colorado defines domestic violence in C.R.S. § 18-6-800.3(1), and the definition captures two distinct fact patterns:
- An act or threatened act of violence against a person with whom the accused is or has been in an intimate relationship.
- Any crime used as a “method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge” against a current or former intimate partner, even when the underlying crime is not itself violent.
The second pathway is the one that surprises people most. It means a non-violent offense can still be tagged as domestic violence if the prosecution shows it was used as a method of coercion or control against an intimate partner. The qualifying conduct is defined by its purpose and target, not only by physical violence. For example, an angry phone call or text message to a former partner can be charged as domestic violence even when no physical violence ever occurred.
What Counts as an “Intimate Relationship”
The enhancer only applies when the alleged victim is a current or former intimate partner. C.R.S. § 18-6-800.3(2) defines an “intimate relationship” as an interpersonal relationship between current or former spouses, present or former unmarried couples, or persons who are the parents of a common child.
A common misconception is that the relationship must be sexual. It does not. In Disher, the Colorado Supreme Court held that “[w]hether that intimate relationship is also sexual is not determinative. A sexual relationship may be an indicator, but never a necessary condition, of an intimate relationship for the purpose of the Colorado domestic violence statute.” Disher, 224 P.3d at 258. Instead, the court weighs, by a preponderance of the evidence, three things: how long the relationship existed, the nature or type of the relationship, and how frequently the parties interacted. Id.
The practical effect is broad. A dating relationship that was never sexual, or one that ended years ago, can still bring a case within Colorado’s domestic violence definition. Because the question turns on the nature of the relationship, the existence and depth of that relationship is often a contested issue in these cases.
Which Crimes Can Carry a Domestic Violence Tag
Because the label attaches to an underlying crime, a wide range of offenses can carry the enhancer when the relationship and purpose elements are met. The charges that appear most often in Colorado domestic violence cases include:
- Harassment (strike, shove, kick) under C.R.S. § 18-9-111(1)(a): acting “with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another person” by striking, shoving, kicking, or otherwise touching a person or subjecting them to physical contact. COLJI-Crim. 9-1:33 (2022).
- Obstruction of telephone service under C.R.S. § 18-9-306.5: knowingly preventing, obstructing, or delaying a message or communication by phone or other device, which can include taking a phone away during an argument to stop a call. COLJI-Crim. 9-3:18 (2022).
- Third-degree assault under C.R.S. § 18-3-204: knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury to another person. COLJI-Crim. 3-2:20.
- Child abuse under C.R.S. § 18-6-401: knowingly or recklessly causing injury to a child’s life or health, or permitting a child to be unreasonably placed in a situation that poses a threat to the child’s life or health. COLJI-Crim. 6-4:01 (2022).
These are everyday examples, not an exhaustive list. The point is structural: the underlying crime is the offense you are actually charged with, and the domestic violence finding is layered on top. To learn more about two of the most common underlying charges, see our pages on Colorado assault and harassment defense and Colorado domestic violence defense.
Who Decides, and the Burden of Proof
This is where domestic violence cases differ procedurally from most others. The underlying crime, such as harassment, assault, or child abuse, must be proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. The domestic violence finding works differently: it is made by the judge, not the jury, and only by a preponderance of the evidence. See C.R.S. § 18-6-801(1)(a) and § 18-6-800.3. We explain that split in depth in our companion article on who decides the domestic violence finding in Colorado — judge or jury.
One telling sign of how this works: the model criminal jury instruction committee has not created a Colorado jury instruction for the domestic violence sentence enhancer at all. The “Domestic Violence” chapter of the model instructions (Chapter 6-8) applies only to habitual domestic violence counts and violations of domestic violence protection orders. Those are true substantive crimes, with Sixth Amendment concerns that require proof to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. See In re People v. Kembel, 2023 CO 5 (Colo. 2023). The ordinary domestic violence enhancer is not one of them.
Why the Domestic Violence Label Matters
Even though it is technically an enhancer rather than a standalone crime, the domestic violence finding carries serious weight. By statute and case law it is added on top of the sentence for the underlying crime. See Disher, 224 P.3d at 256; Pellegrin v. People, 2023 CO 37 (Colo. 2023) (confirming the finding is treated as a sentencing matter rather than a separate penalty). That means the same conduct can produce consequences that a person charged with the bare underlying offense would never face.
Those added consequences are concrete. A domestic violence finding commonly brings a court-ordered treatment program that can run from several months to years, often paired with random drug or alcohol screening, all at the defendant’s own time and expense. Depending on the case, it can also mean work and living restrictions, complications with travel, the loss of certain constitutional rights, and a hard-to-measure amount of lost opportunity.
One of the most serious of those consequences involves firearm rights. Under federal law, a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” can prohibit a person from possessing firearms, and the U.S. Supreme Court has held that even the degree of force sufficient for a common-law battery can qualify. United States v. Castleman, 572 U.S. 157 (2014). In other words, the kind of physical contact at issue in a strike, shove, or kick harassment charge can be enough to trigger lifelong federal firearm consequences once the domestic violence label is attached. We cover this in detail in how a Colorado domestic violence conviction can cost you your Second Amendment rights.
Firearm consequences can begin almost immediately. As a condition of release, Colorado law generally requires a person charged in a domestic violence case to give up possession of firearms within 24 hours, and the criminal protection order entered at the first appearance stays in effect until the case is resolved or the court modifies it. The exposure can also outlast the criminal case: a civil protection order that is made permanent and includes an act of domestic violence can affect firearm rights for life, and such an order can be entered even without a criminal charge or conviction.
The domestic violence label also shapes the case from the very beginning and can run alongside civil proceedings. For more on how these cases unfold, see our related reading on Colorado’s mandatory arrest law, whether the alleged victim can drop the charges, and modifying or lifting a Colorado protection order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is domestic violence a separate crime in Colorado?
No. Domestic violence is not its own crime in Colorado. It is a sentence enhancer a judge attaches to an underlying offense, such as harassment or assault, when the court finds the act was committed against a current or former intimate partner. See People v. Disher and C.R.S. § 18-6-801.
What does the prosecution have to prove for a domestic violence enhancer?
That the underlying crime was either an act or threatened act of violence against a current or former intimate partner, or any crime used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge against that partner. The judge decides this by a preponderance of the evidence under C.R.S. § 18-6-800.3.
Does a domestic violence relationship have to be sexual?
No. In People v. Disher, the Colorado Supreme Court held that a sexual relationship may be an indicator but is never a necessary condition of an intimate relationship. Courts instead weigh how long the relationship lasted, its nature and type, and how often the parties interacted.
Can a non-violent crime be charged as domestic violence in Colorado?
Yes. Under C.R.S. § 18-6-800.3(1), any crime used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge against a current or former intimate partner can carry the domestic violence enhancer, even when the underlying offense is not itself violent.
Can a phone call or text message be charged as domestic violence in Colorado?
Yes. Because a crime used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge against a current or former intimate partner can qualify, an angry or threatening phone call or text message to an ex can be charged as domestic violence even when no physical violence occurred. See C.R.S. § 18-6-800.3(1).
What penalties come with a domestic violence finding in Colorado?
On top of the sentence for the underlying crime, a domestic violence finding commonly requires a court-ordered treatment program that can last months to years, sometimes with random drug or alcohol screening at your own expense. It can also require surrendering firearms within 24 hours of release and may bring work or living restrictions, travel complications, and the loss of certain constitutional rights.
Who decides whether my case involves domestic violence, the judge or the jury?
The judge. The underlying crime must be proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, but the domestic violence finding is made by the trial judge by a preponderance of the evidence under C.R.S. § 18-6-801(1)(a). See also our article on who decides the domestic violence finding in Colorado.
What counties and cities does the Law Office of Daniel H. Kyser serve for domestic violence cases?
The firm defends domestic violence cases in Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson, and Weld counties, and in cities including Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Greenwood Village, Lone Tree, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, and Parker. It also handles criminal appeals statewide.
Law Office of Daniel H. Kyser — 5950 S. Willow Drive, Suite 250, Greenwood Village, CO 80111. Serving Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson, and Weld counties.
