Category Archives: News

A Note from Public Policy Director Denise Maes Colorado’s legislative session is 120 days and a great deal happens in these mere four months that affect many Coloradans. For example, in the 2018 session, transportation and education saw unprecedented gains in funding. The legislature infused $645 million into multi-modal transportation and infrastructure and increased per pupil funding by $469 per student. Civil liberties legislation rarely gets much attention. The one exception this year.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/dispatch-from-the-border   On June 30th, thousands of Coloradans across the state rallied to urge an end to President Trump’s cruel policy of family separation. On this podcast, John sits down with Alejandra who traveled to the US/Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas to see firsthand the impact Trump’s zero-tolerance policy has had on families seeking asylum. Afterward, we will listen to Alejandra’s interview with a 9-year-old child who came.... | Read More

DENVER – The District Attorney’s Office of the 18th District announced yesterday via Twitter that it will dismiss the "criminal tampering" charge against Shauna Johnson, a mother of two who wrote “STOP PUTTING KIDS IN CAGES” in chalk on the sidewalk outside of Rep. Ken Buck’s Castle Rock District Office. The DA’s office wrote that it reviewed the case, and “determined that justice would be a dismissal.” Statement from ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein: “We.... | Read More

DENVER - The City of Aurora has agreed to pay $75,000 to ACLU of Colorado clients Omar Hassan and Dwight Crews, two black men who sued over separate incidents of mistreatment by the Aurora Police Department. According to an ACLU lawsuit filed in September 2017, two Aurora police officers ordered Hassan to leave a coffee shop after telling him, “Your kind of business is not welcome here.”  He will receive $40,000. Crews, a disabled 60-year-old man, was removed from his home without a warrant.... | Read More

DENVER – ACLU of Colorado announced today that it will represent Shauna Johnson, a mother of two who was charged with “criminal tampering” after she wrote “Stop putting kids in cages” in chalk on the sidewalk outside of Rep. Ken Buck’s Castle Rock District Office. “Shauna Johnson is a concerned constituent who wanted to communicate an urgent message to Representative Buck in opposition to mass child abuse being perpetrated by the Trump Administration at the border,” said ACLU of.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/mike-foote District Attorneys are one of the most influential players in the criminal justice system. They choose who gets charged for which crimes, hold police accountable for misconduct, and provide access to alternatives to incarceration. Fair-minded district attorneys can help bring an end to racially-biased policing, unequal bail practices and mass incarceration, yet elections for DA are often overlooked. On June 26, Boulder County voters.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/michael-dougherty District Attorneys are one of the most influential players in the criminal justice system. They choose who gets charged for which crimes, hold police accountable for misconduct, and provide access to alternatives to incarceration. Fair-minded district attorneys can help bring an end to racially-biased policing, unequal bail practices and mass incarceration, yet elections for DA are often overlooked. On June 26, Boulder County.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/masterpiece-explained There were many questions following Monday's Supreme Court ruling of the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. Today ACLU of Colorado Staff Attorney Sara Neel explains how we got here, what the ruling means, and where we go from here. Call To Action: Congress: Pass The Equality Act Now  https://www.aclu.org/Support-Equality-Act The Purple State Report is brought to you by the ACLU of Colorado. Our show was produced by Vanessa Michel,.... | Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court today reaffirmed the core principle that businesses open to the public must be open to all in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The court did not accept arguments that would have turned back the clock on equality by making our basic civil rights protections unenforceable, but reversed this case based on concerns specific to the facts here.  The American Civil Liberties Union argued the case on behalf of Charlie Craig and David Mullins, who.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/inmigracion-conozca-sus-derechos Las acciones recientes de ICE y la Administración de Trump han generado preocupacion en la comunidad de inmigrantes de Colorado. Ahora es un buen momento para recordarles a todos que la Constitución y la Carta de Derechos protegen a "Nosotros la gente", no a "Nosotros los ciudadanos." Field Director Alejandra Garza y Staff Attorney Arash Jahanian presentan un programa especial sobre los.... | Read More