In Re the People of the State of Colorado by and through the People of the City of Westminster v. Aleah Michelle…

Summary

The court held that state law preempts municipal sentencing provisions to the extent they authorize penalties exceeding state caps for municipal offenses prohibiting conduct identical to conduct prohibited by a state misdemeanor or petty-offense statute. The court concluded that regulating and sentencing low-level offenses is a matter of mixed local and statewide concern and that harsher municipal penalties create an operational conflict with the state's interest in uniform sentencing. The defendants may continue to be prosecuted in municipal court, but their penalties may not exceed the corresponding state caps.