News
News Releases 1997

Dec 22, 1997 - ACLU Files Complaint on Behalf of Family of Suspect Who Died in Police Custody
Acting on behalf of the family of Robert Murphy, who died after being taken into police custody on October 31, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) filed a complaint today with the Denver Police, asking that Chief Michaud consider whether to impose administrative discipline on the officers responsible for Murphy’s arrest and custody.

Dec 2, 1997 - ACLU Sues for Release of Police Investigation of Officers Accused of Manhandling Gil Webb
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) filed suit today under the Colorado Open Records Act, seeking disclosure of the Denver Police Department’s internal investigation of the events that occurred on March 26, 1997, when police arrested Gil Webb for auto theft and vehicular homicide at the scene of the crash that killed Officer Ronald DeHerrera.

Sep 19, 1997 - Governor Grants ACLU Request to Disclose Execution Date
In response to a formal request by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) Governor Roy Romer agreed this afternoon to provide advance public disclosure of the date for the execution of convicted murderer Gary Davis, the first execution in Colorado in thirty years.

Sep 16, 1997 - ACLU Asks Governor to Disclose Secret Execution Date
In a letter hand-delivered today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) asked Governor Roy Romer to disclose the date scheduled for the upcoming execution of convicted murderer Gary Davis, the first execution in Colorado in thirty years.

Sep 9, 1997 - Judge Declares Salida Loitering Ordinance Unconstitutional After ACLU Challenge
A legal challenge mounted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) has resulted in a ruling declaring unconstitutional a controversial new Salida ordinance that prohibits adults from spending more than five minutes in a public place after 11 p.m.

Sep 3, 1997 - ACLU Files Suit Challenging RTD Rule Banning Contracts With Those Who Contribute to Support Light Rail
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) filed suit today in federal court to challenge a controversial resolution adopted August 19 by the Board of the Regional Transit District (RTD).

Sep 2, 1997 - ACLU Files Legal Challenge to Salida Ordinance Prohibiting Adults From Gathering in a Public Place After 11 P.M.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) has filed a legal challenge to a controversial new Salida ordinance that prohibits adults from spending more than five minutes in a public place after 11 p.m.

Jun 2, 1997 - Settlement of ACLU Lawsuit Brings State-wide Changes in DMV’s Treatment of Immigrants
As part of a settlement of a civil rights lawsuit filed last October by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU), the Colorado Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) has agreed to state-wide policy changes that will improve its treatment of immigrants.

May 1, 1997 - ACLU Sues Denver Police for Misconduct in Melee at TJ High School Dance
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) filed a class action civil rights lawsuit today in federal court on behalf of students and parents injured by alleged police misconduct after a dance at Thomas Jefferson High School (TJ) on May 4, 1996, where a melee erupted after 70 nightstick-wielding police responded to a report of an isolated one-on-one fistfight in the school parking lot.

Apr 30, 1997 - ACLU Sues Denver Police for Beating Teenager Who Protested Police Actions at Cinco de Mayo Celebration
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) filed a civil rights lawsuit against three Denver police officers today, charging that on May 7 last year they stopped Alonso Tarango without cause, subjected him to verbal and physical abuse, threatened to take him for an "alley ride," and falsely charged him with violation of curfew, all in retaliation for Tarango’s participation in a demonstration critical of police actions at the 1996 celebration of Cinco de Mayo two days earlier.

Apr 9, 1997 - ACLU Requests Disclosure of Videotape Depicting Mistreatment of Suspect
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) filed a formal request today under the Colorado Open Records Act for disclosure of the full footage of a Channel 2 videotape that prompted an investigation into police mistreatment of a seventeen-year-old African American suspect charged in a March 26 crash that fatally injured Denver Police Officer Ron DeHerrera.

Mar 28, 1997 - Suit Against Abortion Doctor Threatens First Amendment Rights, ACLU Argues
A suit filed by an anti-abortion activist against Boulder abortion doctor Warren Hern threatens rights protected by the First Amendment, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado, which has asked to intervene in the lawsuit as a friend of the court.

Feb 7, 1997 - Court Orders Release of Documents of Internal Investigation of Police Misconduct at TJ High School
In a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) under the Colorado Open Records Act, Denver District Court Judge Paul A. Markson, Jr. has ordered the Denver Police Department to disclose almost all of the documents it compiled in the course of a major internal investigation of alleged police misconduct at the scene of a dance at Thomas Jefferson High School last May 4.

Feb 7, 1997 - ACLU Condemns Amendment 12 as "Scarlet Letter" Law; Intervenes in Colorado Supreme Court Challenge
Condemning Amendment 12 as the modern political equivalent of the Scarlet Letter, the ACLU of Colorado moved on Friday to intervene in a legal challenge that is currently pending before the Colorado Supreme Court.

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