## Facts

- A delinquency petition alleged that L.O.W., a juvenile, committed acts that would constitute second-degree burglary (class 3 felony) if committed by an adult.
- At a detention hearing, the court heard testimony from an investigating officer and reviewed a counselor’s report and L.O.W.’s court history.
- The record showed two prior delinquency adjudications, another matter with a reserved ruling, and multiple failures to appear in prior proceedings in Arapahoe and Jefferson Counties.
- L.O.W. was on probation for carrying a concealed weapon and had other serious delinquency petitions pending in Denver and Jefferson Counties, with related probation-revocation proceedings.
- The district court found probable cause and ordered continued detention at the Arapahoe Youth Center, denying L.O.W.’s request that bond be set.
- Later detention hearings continued detention; no new evidence was presented and L.O.W. offered no evidence specifically supporting release on bond.
- L.O.W. sought original relief in the state supreme court requesting an order requiring the juvenile court to set bond.

## Issues

1. Whether a juvenile has an absolute constitutional right to bail under the Eighth Amendment and the Colorado Constitution’s excessive-bail provision pending adjudication of a delinquency petition.
2. Whether Colorado’s bail statutes or the juvenile code require a juvenile court to set bond rather than detain a child pending adjudication.
3. Whether a juvenile court may detain a child without bond when it finds probable cause and that detention is in the best interests of the child and the community under the juvenile detention statute.

## Decision

- The Colorado Supreme Court held that a juvenile does not have an absolute constitutional or statutory right to bail pending adjudication in juvenile court.
- The court concluded the excessive-bail clauses limit bail when bail is available, but do not themselves create an across-the-board entitlement to bail in juvenile proceedings.
- The court read the general bail statutes as directed to adult criminal defendants and not as overriding the juvenile code’s detention provisions.
- The court held the juvenile detention statute permits detention without bond when statutory criteria are satisfied, including probable cause and a determination that detention serves the best interests of the child and the community.
- Applying those standards, the court upheld the detention order based on L.O.W.’s history of nonappearance, ongoing juvenile matters, and the juvenile court’s express findings.
- The court discharged the rule to show cause, leaving the denial of bond and continued detention in effect.

## Legal Principles

- Constitutional prohibitions on excessive bail restrict the amount and conditions of bail when bail is provided, but do not necessarily establish an absolute right to bail in all proceedings.
- Juvenile delinquency proceedings are distinct from adult criminal prosecutions; adult procedural protections do not automatically apply in full.
- Colorado’s juvenile code authorizes preadjudication detention without bond when, after a detention hearing, the court finds probable cause and determines detention serves the best interests of the child and the community, considering factors such as court history and risk of nonappearance.
- General adult bail statutes must be construed consistently with the juvenile code and do not create an unconditional juvenile right to bond.

## Conclusion

The court sustained the juvenile court’s authority to detain a child without setting bond, holding that neither constitutional excessive-bail provisions nor Colorado statutes confer an absolute juvenile right to bail where the juvenile detention statute’s requirements for continued detention are met.


L.O.W. v. District Court, 623 P.2d 1253 (Colo. 1981)