Category Archives: Criminal Justice

December 19, 2018 Ahead of Joint Budget Committee's Thursday briefing on proposed DOC budget—which includes nearly $40 million for prison expansion—ACLU of Colorado and CCJRC release memo warning of 'significantly overestimated' prison population growth projections DENVER — As Colorado's corrections budget nears $1 billion, criminal justice reform advocates are urging state lawmakers to explore alternatives to opening another prison in the state. In a memo released Wednesday,.... | Read More

November 7, 2017 DENVER - The ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit in federal court this morning against El Paso County on behalf of Jasmine Still, a Colorado Springs resident who was held in jail for 27 days after a court granted her release, without payment of money, through a personal recognizance bond (PR bond). Despite the court’s order, El Paso County continued to hold Ms. Still, because she was unable to pay a $55 fee for El Paso County Pretrial Services. According to the lawsuit, El Paso.... | Read More

DENVER – Colorado’s more than 200 municipal courts operate without meaningful accountability or oversight, and one court in particular — the Alamosa Municipal Court— systematically violates the constitutional rights of its mainly impoverished criminal defendants, according to a report released today by the ACLU of Colorado. Justice Derailed: A case study of abusive and unconstitutional practices in Colorado city courts is based on a multi-year ACLU investigation which revealed that, despite.... | Read More

09/07/17 DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit this morning against the Pueblo and Teller County Sheriff’s Offices on behalf of Michael Bailey, who was held in jail for 52 days on a years-old misdemeanor warrant awaiting his first appearance before a judge.    The lawsuit, which was filed this morning in federal district court, seeks compensatory and punitive damages. On Sept. 8, 2015, the Teller County Sheriff’s Office arrested Mr. Bailey on a four-year-old misdemeanor warrant.... | Read More

DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado filed a federal class action lawsuit this morning challenging the Colorado Department of Corrections’ systematic denial of life-saving treatment to more than 2,200 prisoners suffering from chronic Hepatitis C. “Colorado has an immense public health crisis in its prisons.  At least one in every nine prisoners suffers from Hepatitis C, and complications from the disease kill nearly as many Coloradans in custody every year as drug and alcohol abuse, homicide,.... | Read More

DENVER – This afternoon, Governor John Hickenlooper signed HB 17-1313, a bill passed by more than three-fourths of the Colorado legislature to rein in civil asset forfeiture and ensure that property seizures in Colorado abide by due process protections in Colorado law. The ACLU of Colorado sent a letter on Tuesday urging the Governor to sign the bill and “not stand in the way of bipartisan reform.” ACLU of Colorado Public Policy Director Denise Maes issued the following statement: “The.... | Read More

DENVER – In a letter from Public Policy Director Denise Maes, the ACLU of Colorado strongly urged Governor Hickenlooper to sign HB 17-1313, a bill passed by more than three-fourths of the Colorado legislature to rein in civil asset forfeiture and ensure that property seizures in Colorado abide by due process protections in Colorado law. “Civil asset forfeiture reform passed the legislature by a combined vote of 81 to 19. It was supported by Republicans, Democrats, libertarians, progressives.... | Read More

  DENVER – The Colorado Legislature gave final approval last night to HB 1329, a bill to bring systematic change to the Division of Youth Corrections (DYC). HB 1329 will increase transparency within DYC and create a 2-year pilot program focused on treatment and rehabilitation of kids without the use of punitive measures, such as solitary confinement, mechanical restraints, and pain compliance. The Division of Youth Corrections will also be renamed the Division of Youth Services and the.... | Read More

2/22/17 DENVER – A county court judge ruled this morning that Denver’s park exclusion directive is unconstitutional because it denies fundamental rights to due process.  The court dismissed all charges against Troy Holm, an ACLU of Colorado client who faced a year in jail for entering a park after he was banned under the directive. “By authorizing police to issue so-called suspension notices that immediately made it a crime to enter a public park, Denver attempted an end-run around the.... | Read More

1/25/17 DENVER – In a letter sent this morning, the ACLU of Colorado demanded that the Denver Parks Department stop enforcement of an unconstitutional and ineffective temporary directive authorizing police to banish people from city parks, without a hearing, conviction, or other due process, based on mere suspicion of illegal drug activity. “Denver’s program of expelling persons from public parks is an end run around constitutional protections,” said ACLU of Colorado Legal Director.... | Read More