The ACLU of Colorado received complaints that on Sunday morning November 13, at the first court appearance of Occupy Denver protesters who were arrested the night before, Magistrate John Hoffman refused to allow reporters and members of the press to bring paper, notebooks or any type of writing utensils into the courtroom. Westword reporter Kelsey Whipple reported that she was forbidden to take notes during the court proceeding. http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2011/11/occupy_denver_arrests_bond.php. In a November 16 letter to Presiding Judge John John Marcucci, the ACLU of Colorado protested this violation of First Amendment rights. For more information, visit https://aclu-co.org/case/judge-marcucci-aclu-re-paper-pens.

Based on news stories, video, and reports from participants and legal observers at Occupy Denver, attorneys at the ACLU are concerned that what had initially been characterized as a policy of admirable restraint in regard to activists at the Occupy Denver site has now evolved into an unwise policy of unnecessarily confrontational and provocative police tactics.

“Denver police commanders made a serious mistake when they sent riot-equipped officers into a crowd of protesters for the purpose of dismantling tents,” said Mark Silverstein, ACLU Legal Director. “In order to enforce a minor ordinance that forbids erecting tents in parks, officers angered the crowd and provoked an unnecessary physical confrontation that led to arrests and reports of excessive and unjustifiable force. There was no emergency that required immediate police action to take down the tents.”

To further investigate reports of excessive force, the ACLU on Tuesday filed comprehensive requests with the Denver Police Department and the Colorado State Patrol for use-of-force reports, after-action reports and other documents relating to recent enforcement actions with regard to Occupy Denver.

“From its beginnings at Lincoln Park, the ACLU of Colorado has watched and listened at Occupy Denver,” said ACLU Executive Director C. Ray Drew. “We have distributed information on individual rights when dealing with the police and maintained a steady presence. At the end of the day, our vigilance speaks to core mission: the protection of civil rights and civil liberties for all people.”

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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado announces that former White House staff member Denise Maes will join the ACLU as Director of Public Policy, succeeding Jessie Ulibarri, who has resigned his position.

An experienced policy and litigation strategist who most recently directed budget and finance efforts for the Office of Vice President Joseph Biden and served as General Counsel in the Office of Administration for President Barack Obama, Maes brings to the ACLU of Colorado more than 20 years of experience practicing law in both the public and private sectors.

“Denise is a stellar addition to our senior staff team at the ACLU of Colorado,” said Executive Director C. Ray Drew. “Her significant experience working in the legal, legislative and public policy arms of the highest echelons of government – as well as her connection to the state of Colorado through years of nonprofit and other activism – will serve the ACLU of Colorado well.

“We can think of no one more uniquely positioned to carry on the legislative and public policy work Jessie Ulibarri has started at the ACLU of Colorado than Denise Maes.”

A native of Taos, New Mexico, Maes – a graduate of the University Of New Mexico School Of Law -- is a first generation college graduate in her family. An experienced environmental attorney who has worked on a number of high-profile hazardous waste and environmental justice cases, Maes is an expert both in municipal and administrative law and land use issues. After being named one of Denver’s Top Seven Women Lawyers by Law Week Colorado in 2009, she left the firm of Berenbaum Weinshienk & Eason, where she was partner, to serve as General Counsel for the White House Office of Administration in the Executive Office of President Barack Obama.

Despite her highly-impressive work in nation’s Capital, it is her strong ties to Colorado and passion for civil rights and social justice that bring Denise Maes back to a place she calls “home.” She has served as Chair of the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Chair of Mi Casa Resource Center for Women, Director of the Downtown Denver Partnership, Director of the Colorado Women’s Bar and Hispanic Bar associations, and was Director and Co-founder of the Latina Initiative.

Celebrated in the legal, business, social justice and Latina/o communities, she was lauded in 2010 as “Barrister of the Year” by The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Colorado (The Center).

Jessie Ulibarri, her predecessor at the ACLU, said with Denise Maes, the ACLU’s legislative and policy work is in good hands.
“Denise Maes has the vision and experience to continue our ambitious public policy work promoting smart criminal justice reforms, protecting voting rights, and upholding the ACLU’s core mission of defending civil rights and civil liberties for all people.”