Colorado has not had a crime called criminal possession of a second degree forged instrument since 1993. That offense was C.R.S. 18-5-106, and the legislature repealed the entire section effective July 1, 1993; the Colorado Revised Statutes list it only as repealed.
What the Law Covers Now
Two statutes cover this ground today:
- Criminal possession of a forged instrument, C.R.S. 18-5-105, is a class 6 felony. It applies when a person, knowing an instrument is forged and intending to use it to defraud, possesses a forged instrument of a kind described in C.R.S. 18-5-102, the first degree forgery statute. That list includes money, securities, deeds, wills, contracts, commercial instruments, promissory notes, public records, and documents issued by a public office.
- Second degree forgery, C.R.S. 18-5-104, is a class 2 misdemeanor. It applies when a person, with intent to defraud, falsely makes, completes, alters, or utters a written instrument of a kind not described in 18-5-102 or in the forged academic record statute. Under C.R.S. 18-5-101(8), to utter means to transfer, pass, or deliver, or attempt or cause to be transferred, passed, or delivered, an instrument to another person.
So possessing a forged instrument of the lesser kind is no longer an offense of its own, while passing one with intent to defraud is second degree forgery.
What the Prosecution Must Prove
Both offenses require intent to defraud. The possession offense also requires proof that the defendant knew the instrument was forged. For more on forgery charges generally, see our forgery page.