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
Cardella v. Town of Castle Rock
This lawsuit, filed under Colorado’s open records law, seeking Castle Rock police department records related to the conduct of a police officer who put innocent civilians in danger in February, 2013, when he fired multiple shots from a semi-automatic rifle at the vehicle of an unarmed fleeing burglary suspect. The Plaintiffs, Michael and Susan....
Criminal Justice, Government Transparency
Hickenlooper v. Freedom From Religion Foundation
Four Colorado taxpayers and the Freedom From Religion Foundation filed suit in state court seeking a declaration that the Governor’s proclamation of a Day of Prayer violated the “no-preference” clause of Article II, Section 4 of the Colorado Constitution, which states that “[n]or shall any preference be given by law to any religious....
Freedom of Expression & Religion
Mercy Regional Medical Center
In a complaint filed with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the ACLU asked the state agency to investigate and stop enforcement of a policy of Mercy Regional Medical Center, a Catholic Hospital in Durango. The complaint asserts that the hospital is relying on the Catholic Ethical and Religious Directives to prohibit physicians....
Freedom of Expression & Religion, Reproductive Freedom
Cherry Creek High School Maternity Leave
Cherry Creek High School violated Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 by failing to allow a pregnant student maternity leave for as long as her doctor determined was necessary. Mia Lopez was informed by the school that she would suffer serious academic consequences, including loss of credits for work she has already done, if her maternity....
Student and Youth Rights, Women’s Rights
Denver Marijuana Ordinance
In 2012, Colorado voters approved Amendment 64, which, as a matter of Colorado law, legalized possession, display, transportation, and consumption of less than an ounce of marijuana. The constitutional amendment also states that nothing in the measure permits “openly and publicly” consuming marijuana.
In October, 2013, the Denver City Council....
Criminal Justice, Privacy & Technology
Ryals v. City of Englewood
In this case, ACLU attorneys challenge an Englewood ordinance that makes it a crime for registered sex offenders to live within 2000 feet of any school, park, or playground, or 1000 feet of any licensed day care center, recreation center or swimming pool. As a practical matter, the ordinance bans previously-convicted sex offenders from living in the....
Criminal Justice