The People of the State of Colorado, Petitioner v. John Arthur Stellabotte, Respondent — Coats, J., Dissenting

Summary

The dissent argues that the majority wrongly creates a new presumption governing the retroactive application of ameliorative criminal legislation. It contends that the earlier decision rested on an express legislative provision applicable to a limited class of pre-Code offenses, while later decisions properly treated retroactivity as dependent on legislative intent rather than reversing an existing presumption. Justice Coats therefore would reject the majority's characterization of the later decisions as dicta and its broader retroactivity rule.