Attorney General Phil Weiser Testimony on Senate Bill 26-095 Before the Committee on the Judiciary, Colorado Senate (Mar. 2, 2026)

Thank you, Chairman Roberts. I am here today to testify in support of Senate Bill 26-095 and want to thank Sen. Weissman and the House sponsors for their leadership in bringing forward this proposed bill.

Coles Whalen, sitting next to me today, will share her experience with you as a victim and survivor of stalking. Stalking is a serious crime. It’s dangerous, it upends people’s lives, and it is too often under-reported and under-enforced. By advocating for this bill, Coles is turning her past pain into purpose, working to protect others.

After the criminal conviction of Coles’ stalker was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, I argued her case before the justices and I got to know Coles and her family. In its Counterman v. Colorado decision, the Supreme Court considered whether the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects stalkers just as it protects journalists reporting on public officials. In reversing the lower court ruling, the Supreme Court required that prosecutors demonstrate a higher state of mind requirement than previously provided under Colorado law. In particular, the Court concluded that prosecutors must demonstrate that a stalker had a reckless disregard for whether his actions would cause a victim to fear for her physical safety.[1]

During the Supreme Court case, Coles had a choice to make—would she use her voice to tell her story at the risk of being revictimized in the process? She had been a successful singer here in Colorado before her life was upended by this heinous crime. Like other victims, her stalker tormented her and tried to silence her. Because of this crime, she ended her singing career and left our state. But in the face of the Supreme Court case, she spoke up, not only telling her story, but making clear that victims must not let the perpetrators win and have the last word.[2]

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision, Coles asked a critical question—how can we better protect victims who are too often revictimized while their cases proceed in the criminal justice system? Coles asked this question to stand up for victims of stalking and other related crimes, including those who received unwanted phone calls, texts, and online messages (including Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and other platforms) that create the fear of being killed or physically injured.

To put this in context, in 2019 alone, around 473,000 victims of stalking using digital technology suffered to such a degree that they feared losing their jobs, freedom, or social networks and friends because of such threats.[3] Too often, those victims are reluctant to report the crimes they endured or to serve as a witness in the prosecution of their crimes, meaning that they do not receive justice or the protection they deserve. And in many cases, these individuals are victims of domestic violence, who generally report that the emotional abuse and fear they live with is worse than the physical abuse they suffered.[4]

The failure of our criminal justice system to protect victims is one our department continues to work to address. Colorado has a Victim Rights Act and we take protecting victims seriously. In the proposed bill, Colorado has an opportunity to develop an important innovation, providing a remote testimony option for those otherwise unable to testify in the same courtroom as the person who upended their lives and tormented them. Without this innovation, many victims—often out of fear of being re-victimized during the prosecution—will hesitate or decline to testify and thus allow stalkers and other dangerous criminals not to be held accountable for their crimes, including not just stalking, but also domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

I also appreciate that this bill implements many of the recommendations that the Sexual Assault Forensic Medical Evidence Review Board outlined in the report sent to the legislature in December of last year. Importantly, the bill requires survivors to be provided with information about how to obtain results and records from medical forensic examinations. This is a step towards empowering victims with critical information about their own case. The bill also makes changes to the board to better reflect its mission and adds seats to elevate more victim voices and municipal crime laboratories.

* * *

Let me close by again thanking Coles for her courage and her voice. We must be vigilant in protecting victims and work with them to address the failings in our criminal justice system. It is an honor to do that work and I thank you for your time and for your consideration of this proposed bill, which I urge you to support.

[1] Counterman v. Colo., 600 U.S. 66 (2023).

[2] Bennito L. Kelty, Coles Whalen Releasing “Stronger” After Supreme Court Ruled for Her Stalker, WESTWORD (Sept. 25, 2024), https://www.westword.com/music/denver-musician-coles-whalen-song-supreme-court-stalking-case-21988605 (opens new tab); Riley Phillips, Jacksonville Beach musician finding her voice again after U.S. Supreme Court set her stalker free, FIRST COAST NEWS (Jan. 27, 2026), https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/local/jacksonville-cole-whalen-musician-supreme-court-stalker-ruling/77-0544f37c-6924-4f4b-a00d-7f3a7e677f2f (opens new tab).

[3] Rachel E. Morgan & Jennifer Truman, BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS, STALKING VICTIMIZATION, 2019, NCJ 301735, at Table 8 (2022), https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/sv19.pdf (PDF).

[4] K. Daniel O’Leary, Psychological Abuse: A Variable Deserving Critical Attention in Domestic Violence, VIOLENCE & VICTIMS 14, 1999 at 3, 13 (“Seventy-two percent of the women rated emotional abuse as having a more negative impact on them than the physical abuse.”).