Category Archives: News

By Nathan Woodliff-Stanley, ACLU of Colorado Executive Director  Would it surprise you to learn that even though Colorado was never a slave state, the Colorado Constitution still leaves a door open for legal slavery in this state? Colorado voters have the opportunity on November 6 to vote yes on Amendment A and close this constitutional loophole, finishing the constitutional abolition of slavery in Colorado. Along with the Abolish Slavery Colorado coalition and a wide array of bipartisan and.... | Read More

DENVER – The American Civil Liberties Union sent a demand letter today to Colorado State University urging the university to amend its campus police policies and training requirements following a racial profiling incident this spring. On April 30, 2018, Kanewakeron Thomas Gray and Skanahwati Lloyd Gray, two Native American brothers touring Colorado State University, were racially profiled by another member of the admissions tour. Employees of the CSU police department detained, questioned.... | Read More

DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado is proud to announce that Chuck Plunkett, Dave Krieger, Alex Landau, Amy Robertson and Tim Fox will receive our 2018 Civil Rights Awards, which will be presented at the Bill of Rights Dinner on Thursday, September 27th at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Denver. Amy Robertson and Tim Fox are co-executive directors of the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center (CREEC), a nationwide civil rights organization based in Denver. Over the last several years, they have.... | Read More

DENVER – Under a settlement finalized this morning, the Colorado Department of Corrections has agreed to spend $41 million over two years to treat prisoners with hepatitis C. The funding is expected to provide treatment to all of the 2,200 Colorado prisoners currently infected with chronic hepatitis C. The settlement ends a class action lawsuit brought last year by ACLU of Colorado and its cooperating attorneys at Fox Rothschild LLP. The attorneys spent more than 1,200 hours over nearly three.... | Read More

DENVER — The ACLU of Colorado today released a report that outlines how Colorado can cut incarceration in half and save more than $675 million by 2025 by pursuing reforms to its drug policy, parole and prosecutorial practices, and sentencing laws. The Blueprint for Smart Justice includes an analysis of who is being sent to jail and prison in Colorado and the racial disparities that are present, what drives people into the system, how long people spend behind bars, and why people are imprisoned.... | Read More

DENVER – ACLU of Colorado sent letters to 31 cities across the state today demanding that they repeal unconstitutional laws that restrict panhandling. The letters are part of a coordinated effort, organized by the National Center on Homelessness and Poverty, involving 18 organizations in 12 states targeting more than 240 outdated panhandling bans. In Colorado, individualized letters were sent challenging ordinances in Aguilar, Alma, Berthoud, Blue River, Brush, Central City,  Columbine.... | Read More

Join the fight for civil rights and civil liberties in Colorado. We're hiring a Director of Campaigns. Find out more and apply today. JOB ANNOUNCEMENT DIRECTOR OF CAMPAIGNS If you are passionate about protecting the rights of ALL people, there has never been a more exciting time to pursue a career at the ACLU, the nation’s foremost defender of civil liberties and civil rights. As we face unprecedented challenges to civil rights and liberties for immigrant families and asylum seekers,.... | Read More

DENVER - El Paso County has agreed, as part of a 190,000 settlement with ACLU of Colorado, to compensate 184 people, including ACLU client Jasmine Still, who were held in the El Paso County Jail solely because they could not pay a $55 fee. The proposed settlement, which is expected to be formally approved by county commissioners on Tuesday, provides for a $60,000 payment for Still’s damages, attorneys’ fees and costs. An additional 183 people are eligible for compensation based on a rate of.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/scotus-and-life-after-roe With Justice Kennedy’s retirement and Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court there are a lot of anxieties about civil liberties in general, but specifically reproductive rights. On this episode, ACLU of Colorado Reproductive Rights Campaign Coordinator Delana Maynes interviews Reproductive Rights Policy Council Lizzy Hinkley on the real possibility that the Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade. Later.... | Read More

DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit today against Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell alleging that he is violating Colorado law by continuing to jail an individual who is eligible for release, at the request of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).   Leonardo Canseco is charged with two misdemeanors, and the Teller County Court set his bond at $800. According to the lawsuit, the sheriff is acting on a detainer request from federal immigration authorities, who suspect that.... | Read More