The First 24 Hours After a Domestic Violence Arrest in Colorado

You’re out of custody, but the relief doesn’t last long. There’s a protection order you don’t fully understand, a bond packet three inches thick, and a judge’s words still ringing in your ears. Words that felt like a verdict. Nothing has actually been decided yet.

Here’s what to do in the hours and days after release:

Your protection order comes first

Read it. Then read it again.

Any contact with the protected party violates it. A call, a text, a message passed through a friend “just to check in.” It doesn’t matter how innocent it looks. If law enforcement finds out, and you have to assume they will, the result is a mandatory arrest. You could be back in custody facing a new domestic violence charge, or at minimum a protection order violation. That’s a class one misdemeanor in Colorado.

The one-time exception: civil assist

You need your things from the home you can no longer enter. Colorado law allows for exactly one exception to a protection order to make that happen: a civil assist.

Schedule it with the law enforcement agency covering your home address. An officer will meet you there and stay for about twenty minutes while you gather what you need. Treat it like you won’t get another chance, because you won’t. Pack for weeks, not days. The case might resolve faster, or the court might loosen the order sooner. Plan for the version where it doesn’t.

Firearms: 72 hours, no exceptions

If there’s a firearm in the home, even one you don’t own, it has to leave before the case is resolved. Colorado gives you 72 hours from release to file a firearm relinquishment affidavit with the court, confirming you’ve complied.

Disclose every firearm you could access, not just the ones in your name. When in doubt, disclose it. A family member who’s legally eligible to own firearms can take temporary custody, usually with an affidavit of their own. No firearms in the home at all? You simply check the box saying so.

Watch for added bond conditions

Depending on the circumstances of your case, the court may add conditions beyond the protection order.

Pretrial supervision. This isn’t law enforcement, the DA, or the judge. It’s a separate office assigned to monitor your compliance and make sure you know your next court date. If pretrial is a condition of your bond, they’ll assign you a case manager and tell you exactly what’s required.

Monitored sobriety. Pretrial will tell you where to go, often a call-in line through a monitoring service like RMS Solutions. Testing is a simple urine analysis that screens for roughly ten substances and reports back within a couple of days.

Marijuana is its own category. If you hold a valid medical marijuana card, you’re typically allowed to continue using marijuana while on bond. Get that card information to your pretrial case manager as soon as you’re assigned one.

Staying sober while on bond protects you two ways. It keeps you out of custody for a bond violation, and it gives your attorney room to work with the district attorney’s office. A clean compliance record opens doors in negotiation. A file full of violations closes them.

Travel is still possible

Bond doesn’t mean house arrest. It means the court needs to know where you are and trust you’ll show up to your next hearing.

If you plan to leave the state, tell the court or pretrial before you go. The concern isn’t the trip. It’s disappearing somewhere the court can’t reach you and missing a court date because of it. Communicate early, and travel stays on the table.

Take care of yourself

Between the protection order, the firearm affidavit, the bond conditions, and the civil assist, it’s a lot to carry in a short window. All of it matters. None of it should consume you.

Take the bath. Watch the movie you’ve watched twenty times. Sit with your dog. Spend time with your kids, within whatever the orders allow. A case doesn’t stop your life. It’s a roadblock, not a wall. Holding onto some normalcy is part of how you get through it.

What working with Krizman Law looks like

A good attorney tells you the truth: what you have to do, what’s at risk, what the road ahead looks like. Then they carry the parts you shouldn’t have to carry alone.

At Krizman Law, that means over-communicating on purpose. Clio portal, text, email, a call. Whatever works for you, we’re on it. You’ll know what’s happening in your case before it becomes a surprise. If you ever don’t feel that way, tell us. Fixing it is the job.

You didn’t ask for this. But you get to keep living your life while we handle the rest.

Facing a domestic violence charge in Colorado? Call Krizman Law today to talk through your first steps.

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