CO HB1102

Each district attorney's office must maintain a central record tracking cases where jailhouse witnesses are endorsed by the state, with monthly reports sent to the Division of Criminal Justice for a statewide database accessible only to district attorneys.

District attorneys must disclose to defendants the jailhouse witness's complete criminal history, cooperation agreements, benefits offered, the substance and circumstances of alleged statements, any recantations, and information about other cases where the witness testified.

In homicide and sexual assault prosecutions, courts must conduct pre-trial hearings upon defendant request to determine if jailhouse witness testimony is reliable, considering factors such as corroboration by other evidence, specificity, details known only to the perpetrator, and whether the witness responded to leading questions.

District attorneys must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that jailhouse witness testimony is reliable; if admitted, courts may instruct jurors to consider the disclosed materials and reliability factors when assessing the testimony.

Prosecutors must notify crime victims if a jailhouse witness receives leniency related to a pending charge, conviction, or sentence in exchange for testimony against a defendant.

The bill appropriates $16,860 to the Department of Public Safety and $16,860 to the Office of Information Technology for fiscal year 2020-21 to implement the tracking system.