Legal
Colorado ACLU Cases

Legal Department Docket, 2002-Present

Case Name: Danielson v. Dennis
Case Number: 06cv0954, Denver District Court; 06SA174, Colorado Supreme Court
ACLU Case Number: 2005-05

Description: A Colorado statute provides that persons on parole—approximately 6000 in Colorado—are forbidden to vote or to register to vote. C.R.S. § 1-2-103(4). This class action, on behalf of approximately 6000 Colorado parolees, asserts that this statute violates the Colorado Constitution.

In Article VII, Section 10, the Colorado Constitution provides that persons lose their right to vote when they are confined in a public prison as a result of a criminal conviction, but it also provides that their civil rights are restored automatically when they complete their “term of imprisonment.” The lawsuit relies on decisions of the Colorado Supreme Court that hold that persons released on parole have completed their term of imprisonment.

Originally filed in federal court as a class action, the lawsuit moved to state court. After the Denver District Court rejected the plaintiffs’ argument, the case was heard by the Colorado Supreme Court, which held that the challenged statute did not violate the Colorado Constitution.

Issues: Voting rights, Equal protection, Rights of Prisoners

ACLU of Colorado Attorneys: Norman Mueller, Ty Gee, Mark Silverstein, Jennifer Lee

Published decision: Danielson v. Dennis, 139 P.3d 688 (Colo. 2006)

Links to Selected Documents:

“ACLU files class action suit to restore right to vote for Colorado parolees,” ACLU News Release, November 17, 2005

Complaint

Criminologists’ amicus brief supporting plaintiffs

ACLU brief, Colorado Supreme Court

ACLU reply brief, Colorado Supreme Court

Danielson v. Dennis, 139 P.3d 688 (Colo. 2006)

 

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