The ACLU of Colorado’s Legal Department works to protect and defend civil liberties through litigation as well as legal advocacy outside the courtroom. With only three full-time attorneys on staff, the ACLU also relies on the work of dedicated volunteer cooperating attorneys from around the state who are willing to donate their time and talent to assist our struggle for liberty.
Litigation & Legal Advocacy
Bailey v. Teller County
The ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit 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 in federal district court, seeks compensatory and punitive damages.
On Sept. 8,....
Aragon v. Raemisch (Hepatitis C Litigation)
The ACLU of Colorado filed a federal class action lawsuit challenging the Colorado Department of Corrections’ systematic denial of life-saving treatment to more than 2,200 prisoners suffering from chronic Hepatitis C.
Hepatitis C is a life-threatening, communicable disease that attacks the liver, causing diminished liver function, cirrhosis, and....
Denver Parks Exclusion Directive
The ACLU of Colorado sent a letter on January 25, 2017 demanding that the Denver Parks Department stop enforcement of an unconstitutional and ineffective temporary directive authorizing police to summarily banish people from city parks, without a hearing, conviction, or other due process, based on mere suspicion of illegal drug activity.
The six-month....
Criminal Justice, Criminalization of Homelessness
Cunningham v. Birch (Hepatitis C Treatment Restrictions)
The ACLU of Colorado filed a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of low-income Coloradans suffering from Hepatitis C who have been denied access to life-saving treatment due to Colorado Medicaid restrictions that force them to incur serious harm to their health before gaining access to the cure.
Hepatitis C is a life-threatening,....
Loitering for the Purpose of Begging
The ACLU of Colorado sent a letter to 34 Colorado municipalities that make it a crime to “loiter for the purpose of begging,” and demanded that municipal authorities stop enforcement and take immediate steps to repeal the “legally indefensible” ordinances.
The ordinances that prohibit “loitering for the purpose of begging” are far broader....
Smith V. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The ACLU of Colorado filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit challenging a practice by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of withholding documents, without legal justification, that immigration lawyers require to advocate for clients that the agency deems to be “fugitives.”
Jennifer Smith, an immigration attorney, filed a FOIA....