Peo in Interest of Wolfe

── Peo in Interest of Wolfe ── Court: Colorado Court of Appeals Date: May 21, 2026 Category: General 26CA0267 Peo in Interest of Wolfe 05-21-2026 COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS Court of Appeals No. 26CA0267 Pueblo County District Court No. 25MH30072 Honorable Amiel Markenson, Judge The People of the State of Colorado, Petitioner-Appellee, In the Interest of Elliot Wolfe, Respondent-Appellant. ORDER AFFIRMED Division A Opinion by JUDGE TAUBMAN* C.J. Román, and Martinez*, J., concur NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e) Announced May 21, 2026 Cynthia Mitchell, County Attorney, Kate H. Shafer, Special Assistant County Attorney, Pueblo, Colorado, for Petitioner-Appellee Tezak Law, P.C., Mary Tezak, Florence, Colorado, for Respondent-Appellant *Sitting by assignment of the Chief Justice under provisions of Colo. Const. art. VI, § 5(3), and § 24-51-1105, C.R.S. 2025. ¶1 Elliot Wolfe appeals the district court’s order authorizing staff at the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo (the hospital) to medicate him without his consent. We affirm. I. Background ¶2 Wolfe was admitted to the hospital in July 2025 after being found incompetent to proceed in two criminal cases. His symptoms included pressured speech, agitation, moodiness, disorganized thinking, and making delusional statements. Wolfe was started on emergency medications after he began screaming and making threatening statements to, and physically posturing at, staff members. He was diagnosed with an unspecified mood disorder. ¶3 In August 2025, the district court granted the People’s petition for authorization to involuntarily medicate Wolfe with Zyprexa (olanzapine) and Thorazine (chlorpromazine), both antipsychotic medications; as well as Depakote (valproic acid), a mood-stabilizing medication. On appeal, a division of this court affirmed. See People v. Wolfe, (Colo. App. No. 25CA1501, Nov. 13, 2025) (not published pursuant to C.A.R. 35(e)). 1 ¶4 In January 2026, the People again petitioned the district court for authorization to involuntarily medicate Wolfe, this time requesting only Zyprexa and Depakote. ¶5 At the hearing on the petition, Wolfe’s psychiatrist at the hospital, Dr. Paul Mattox, and Wolfe both testified. Dr. Mattox testified that Wolfe’s unspecified mood disorder, which Dr. Mattox described as “severe,” constituted a substantial disorder that impaired Wolfe’s judgment or capacity to recognize reality or control his behavior. While discussing Wolfe’s symptoms, Dr. Mattox described two of Wolfe’s delusional beliefs: that his national birth certificate was being destroyed and that his public defender was a Jehovah’s Witness. Dr. Mattox described that Wolfe’s condition had improved on the medications, and opined that, without the medications, Wolfe would experience a significant, likely long-term deterioration of his mental condition. He also testified that Wolfe had been experiencing hand tremors, which could be caused by Depakote, but that he could take propranolol to decrease the tremors. ¶6 Wolfe testified that he did not believe that he had a mental illness and did not need medication, explaining that “[t]heir 2  medications only screw things up.” But he also testified that he was willing to take Zyprexa and Depakote voluntarily “if [he] feel[s] it’s necessary,” explaining that he is “old enough and know[s] enough to know when [he] need[s] to take medication and when [he doesn’t].” He clarified that Zyprexa was not causing him any side effects, but that he preferred a different medication than Depakote because of his hand tremors. ¶7 Following the testimony, the district court found that Dr. Mattox had testified credibly and persuasively, and it adopted Dr. Mattox’s opinions. The c