Category Archives: News
ACLU Sues Denver for Police Violence Against Protesters
June 25, 2020 DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado and Arnold & Porter filed a lawsuit today against the City and County of Denver on behalf of Black Lives Matter 5280 (BLM 5280) and individual plaintiffs who were injured by police while protesting police violence in late May and early June. The lawsuit challenges the use of tear gas and “less-lethal” weapons that police unleashed against nonviolent protesters who were demonstrating over the killings of Black men and women at the hands of law.... | Read More
ACLU Statement on the Supreme Court’s Decision to Uphold DACA
June 18, 2020 WASHINGTON — In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and jeopardize the lives of 700,000 DACA recipients. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has fought the Trump administration’s termination of DACA since it was first announced and filed an amicus brief in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California. In a separate case, the ACLU.... | Read More
We Won, What’s Next?
June 16, 2020 By Julian Camera, Field Organizer Yesterday, Aimee Stephens, Don Zarda, and Gerald Bostock won. The LGBTQ+ community won. Hope, justice and humanity won. The Supreme Court ruled that it was against the law to fire our clients — fire anyone — for being LGBTQ+. This landmark victory was the result of decades of work by LGBTQ+ people fighting for the right to exist. It belongs to Aimee, Don, and Gerald, and innumerable individuals who spoke up and spoke out against discrimination. To.... | Read More
Support the Law Enforcement Integrity and Accountability Act
Our country is devastated by the frequent deaths and injuries of hundreds of Black and Brown people at the hands of the police. Police officers are entrusted to protect and serve the community and should be held accountable to the people they serve. Demand humane, equitable, and constitutional policing in Colorado communities. Contact your representative and tell them to vote in support of the Law Enforcement Integrity and Accountability Act. Police officers often escape liability because.... | Read More
Now is The Time for Police Accountability
June 2, 2020 DENVER – The ACLU of Colorado has been monitoring the protests happening in Denver as events have unfolded. The following statement can be attributed to Stephen Meswarb, Interim Executive Director at ACLU of Colorado: “The protests happening all over the country are an outpouring of rage and grief at the endless, relentless examples of unarmed Black people being brutalized and murdered at the hands of police. George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are just the latest deaths. Here in Colorado.... | Read More
ACLU Responds to Minneapolis Police Killing George Floyd
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Minnesota are jointly calling for a fair, independent, and transparent investigation following the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis police Monday evening. We need you with us to build national pressure and ensure public outrage leads to action. Please join us in calling on Minnesota leadership to hand the case over to an independent prosecutor under the Attorney General's authority. CALL FOR.... | Read More
ACLU Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Gov. and DOC for Failure to Protect Medically Vulnerable People in Prison from COVID-19
DENVER – ACLU of Colorado filed a class action lawsuit today against Governor Polis and the Department of Corrections seeking an emergency order to compel the DOC to protect medically vulnerable incarcerated people from COVID-19. The requested order includes prioritizing the release of people who are older, sick, or otherwise vulnerable to serious illness or death from COVID-19 and who pose no threat to public safety. ACLU’s lawsuit comes on the heels of DOC modeling that projects thousands of.... | Read More
No One Deserves to Die From COVID-19
Colorado recently abolished the death penalty, and yet older and medically vulnerable Coloradans are facing a death sentence in prisons that will not protect them from the virus. We must continue to safely lower jail and prison populations in order to save lives. No one deserves to die from COVID-19. Anthony Martinez Anthony Martinez is 84 years old and suffering from renal failure, as well as other serious medical conditions including dementia. He is currently incarcerated in the Sterling.... | Read More
Advocates to Governor Polis: Failure to Renew Prison Executive Order Will Cause Needless Suffering and Death
May 27, 2020 DENVER — Today, several criminal justice organizations slammed Governor Polis’ decision to not renew parts of his Executive Order, which granted the Colorado Department of Corrections broad authority to safely release thousands of people from prisons in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 inside facilities and ultimately save lives. The Governor’s decision to halt the order comes on the heels of an April analysis provided to CDOC that predicted COVID-19 would infect more.... | Read More
ACLU’s Lawsuit Against Teller County Sheriff’s ICE Operations Moves to Appeals
May 26, 2020 DENVER – ACLU of Colorado has appealed a ruling of the Teller County District Court dismissing a taxpayer lawsuit seeking to stop Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell from enforcing federal civil immigration law. The lawsuit, filed last summer on behalf of six Teller County residents and taxpayers, asserts that Sheriff Mikesell exceeds his authority and violates Colorado law by participating in what is known as a 287(g) agreement with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.... | Read More
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