Legal
Colorado ACLU Cases

Legal Department Docket, 2002-Present

Case Name: American Civil Liberties Union v. LaCabe
Case Number: 2008-CV-4231, Denver District Court
ACLU Case Number: 2008-09

Description: This lawsuit, filed against Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe and the City and County of Denver, seeks disclosure of the policy and procedure manual for the downtown city jail, known as the Pre-Arraignment Detention Facility or PADF.  The Manager of Safety refused to produce the manual under Colorado open records laws based on the ground that disclosure would be “contrary to the public interest.”  The ACLU argues that disclosure of the PADF manual is in the public interest, noting the chronic problems with overcrowding and understaffing at the PADF, repeated instances of innocent parties being arrested and detained at the PADF in cases of mistaken identity, and a history of egregious delays in processing arrestees and failing to release arrestees long after they have posted bond.  The ACLU argues the public interest in disclosure of the PADF manual is especially strong in light of the upcoming Democratic National Convention, when large numbers of arrests could overload the system and cause excessive backlogs in processing, and serious problems with access to food, medicine, attorneys, sanitary facilities, and delivery of medical care to vulnerable detainees.

Issues: Open government; police practices, rights of prisoners

ACLU of Colorado Attorneys: John Culver, Mark Silverstein, Taylor Pendergass

Links to Selected Documents:

"ACLU Announces Settlement of Recently Filed Lawsuit; Denver Agrees to Disclose Jail Policies and Procedures Manual", ACLU New Release, June 18, 2008

“ACLU sues Denver for Disclosure of City Jail Policies and Procedures in Advance of Democratic National Convention,” ACLU New Release, May 19, 2008

Complaint, filed May 19, 2008

Selected Exhibits to Complaint

• PADF Manual Table of Contents
  
  
• Letter from ACLU of Colorado to Manager of Safety Al LaCabe, Denver Police Department Deputy Chief Michael Battista, and Mayoral Advisor Katherine Archuleta (October 26, 2007)
  
  
• Letter from ACLU of Colorado to Denver County Court Judges Breese and Armatas (April 28, 2008)
  
  

Rights and Wrongs at the RNC: A Special Report about Police and Protest at the Republican National Convention (New York Civil Liberties Union, August 2005)

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