City attorney warns Lakewood will update code after Colorado Supreme Court limits municipal sentencing

Lakewood City Attorney Alison McKenney-Brown introduced Senior Assistant City Attorney Patrick Freeman on March 2, 2026 for a brief legal update about a Colorado Supreme Court decision affecting municipal sentencing.

Freeman summarized a group of cases (stemming from municipal convictions in Westminster and Aurora) in which the Supreme Court found operational preemption: where state statutes establish sentencing caps and municipal ordinances are effectively identical in elements and penalty structure, state law preempts local sentencing that exceeds state caps. "This is a matter of mixed concern," Freeman said, and the court concluded that, for identical offenses, local governments may not impose penalties exceeding the state law caps.

Practical implications: Freeman told the council that municipalities with local ordinances mirroring state statutes must bring their code into alignment. Lakewood staff will present modifications to Title One and other sections on upcoming agendas to ensure municipal penalties do not exceed state caps. Ms. McKenney-Brown said the city already tends to use community-based sentencing and the municipal courts and prosecutor's office have been monitoring the matter while litigation progressed.

Questions from council: Members asked whether the ruling applies only to literally identical offenses and whether judges or the municipal court should brief council on operational effects. Staff said the Supreme Court specifically addressed identical statutes and did not resolve cases where municipal offenses are non-identical; staff also offered to invite the municipal judge to a future meeting and signaled a Title One amendment would appear on the next agenda.

Next steps: City staff will draft ordinance changes to align local sentencing language with state law and bring them forward in the coming weeks.