People v. Sloan.

2026 CO 63. No. 24SC469. Instructional Error—Sentence-Enhancing Interrogatory—Plain Error—Vehicular Eluding—CRS § 18-9-116.5(2)(a).

September 14, 2026

The supreme court reaffirmed that an instructional error concerning an issue that was uncontested at trial does not amount to plain error. In this case, a division of the court of appeals concluded that Colorado law requires a more robust analysis than simply examining whether the erroneous instruction related to an uncontested issue. The division reasoned that appellate courts must also consider whether the evidence at trial overwhelmingly supports the defendant’s conviction, and that an instructional error regarding an uncontested issue may rise to plain error only if the evidence of guilt—or, in this case, the evidence establishing the sentence-enhancing interrogatory—is overwhelming. Because the division misunderstood and misapplied Colorado law, the court reversed its judgment.