Editor’s Note: Law Week Colorado edits court opinion summaries for style and, when necessary, length.
The Colorado Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari in the case of Beagle v. People. The court granted the writ on a singular issue: whether the sexually violent predator designation is a cruel and unusual punishment as applied to Timothy Beagle.
The state’s high court, reframing the question, is considering whether the sexually violent predator designation under Section 18-3-414.5(1)(a) of the Colorado Revised Statutes is a criminal punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Following an incident in 2019, Beagle was arrested and charged with multiple counts. He pleaded guilty to one count of attempt to commit sexual assault and one count of distribution of a controlled substance to a minor in exchange for dismissal of the remaining charges, according to an unpublished opinion from a division of the Colorado Court of Appeals.
Before Beagle’s sentencing, a Sexually Violent Predator Assessment Screening Instrument was completed for him. Based on its results, the evaluator recommended that the district court designate Beagle as a sexually violent predator.
The day before sentencing, Beagle’s counsel filed a motion for a determination that he wasn’t a sexually violent predator. His counsel took issue with how the score was calculated, citing the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment and the inherent unreliability of the assessment.
At the sentencing hearing, the court found that he met the criteria, designated him as a sexually violent predator and sentenced him to 15 years.
The appeals court affirmed the district court’s order of the designation.
At the time of publication, the state’s Supreme Court had not set a date for oral arguments in the case.