City of Commerce City v. State

Because I believe that our clear and emphatic holding in People v. Hizhniak, 195 Colo. 427, 579 P.2d 1131 (1978), controls this case, I respectfully dissent.

The respondent in Hizhniak was charged with speeding on a local street in the City of Sterling, a home-rule city. "Clocked," presumably by radar technology, at thirty-five miles-per-hour in a twenty-five miles-per-hour zone, Hizhniak was tried and convicted, fined $100, and sentenced to ten days in jail. Id. at 428, 579 P.2d at 1132. We considered whether Sterling could impose a jail sentence where the legislature had determined that the…