In Re the People of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff v. Benjamin Roina, Defendant.

Summary

The court held that the trial court erred by refusing to review a sealed defense motion seeking a preliminary competency determination unless the defense disclosed the motion to the prosecution. The governing statute requires disclosure of the sealed motion only when the defense requests a competency hearing, so the trial court was authorized to review the motion ex parte at the preliminary-finding stage. The court made its rule to show cause absolute, vacated the trial court's order, and remanded.