In re People v. Bell.

2026 CO 28. No. 25SA254. Discovery—Postconviction Proceedings—Due Process—CCJRA.

May 4, 2026

In this original proceeding under C.A.R. 21, the supreme court held that, although a defendant has no constitutional right to discovery in postconviction cases, in some instances a postconviction court should order the prosecution to provide duplicate pretrial discovery to the defense to protect an indigent defendant’s rights to due process and to the effective assistance of counsel. The defendant must show they may be entitled to postconviction relief based on specific facts that were likely mentioned in pretrial discovery but unavailable to postconviction counsel and that would help them substantiate their allegations.

The supreme court therefore made absolute the order to show cause, reversed the district court’s denial of Bell’s motion to compel, and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings.