1973, February, Pg. 5. New Postconviction Relief for Prison Sentences.

• Author: by Natalie S. Ellwood

2 Colo.Law. 5

The Colorado Lawyer

1973.

1973, February, Pg. 5.

New Postconviction Relief for Prison Sentences

5Vol. 2, No. 4, Pg. 5New Postconviction Relief for Prison Sentencesby Natalie S. EllwoodNatalie S. Ellwood, Denver, is a member of the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations. A former stiff attorney for the Office of the State Public Defender in Denver, Ms. Ellwood is now in the private practice of law.An important aspect of criminal legal work involves representing an individual after conviction, particularly when a prison sentence is imposed by the court. Representing a client who is a defendant in criminal prosecution does not end at the time he is either found guilty by a jury or judge or enters a guilty plea. Good representation by the attorney following conviction is as important as the preparation of pretrial motions and the trial itself.

New Colorado legislation, effective July 1, 1972, introduced a new procedure for postconviction relief in the Colorado Criminal Code. The new sections that deal with postconviction relief are C.R.S. 1963, § 43-1-509 and § 40-1-510.

C.R.S. 1963, § 40-1-509 is entitled "Appellate Review of Sentence for a Felony" and contains the following:

(1) When sentence is imposed upon any person following a conviction of any felony, other than a class 1 felony in which the penalty was decided upon by a verdict of the jury, the person convicted shall have the right to one appellate review of the propriety of the sentence, having regard to the nature of the offense, the character of the offender, and the public interest, and the manner in which the sentence was imposed, including the sufficiency and accuracy of the information on which it was based. The procedures to be employed in such review shall be as provided by supreme court rule.

(2) No appellate court shall review any sentence which was imposed within the minimum and maximum punishment authorized for the offense involved if the minimum sentence imposed is not more than three years greater than the minimum sentence provided for the offense, and unless within thirty days after sentence is imposed a written notice is filed in the trial court to the effect that review of the sentence will be sought and said notice must state the grounds upon which it is based.

(3) The reviewing court shall have power to affirm the sentence under review, substitute for the sentence under review any penalty that was open to the sentencing court other than granting probation or other conditional release, or remand the case for any further proceedings that could have been conducted prior to the imposition of the sentence

6under review, and for resentencing on the basis of such further proceedings. No sentence in excess of the one originally imposed shall be given unless...