News
News Releases 2004

Dec 2, 2004 - Presenting documentary evidence of FBI political spying, ACLU files FOIA request on behalf of 16 organizations and 10 individuals
At a news conference held today at the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU), Legal Director Mark Silverstein presented documentary evidence that the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (“JTTF”), contrary to its public statements, has been collecting information about the peaceful protest activities of Colorado residents and the constitutionally-protected activities of law-abiding advocacy groups.

Nov 30, 2004 - ACLU and Colorado DOC Settle Lawsuit Challenging Censorship Practices
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) announced today the settlement of a lawsuit, filed in 2000 on behalf of a publisher's association, eight publishers and seven prisoners, that challenged the standards and procedures employed by the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) for censoring books, newspapers, magazines, and political commentary.

Oct 18, 2004 - Federal Appeals Court Reinstates ACLU Class Action Lawsuit Over El Paso County Jail
In a ruling announced today, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a class action lawsuit filed in 2002 on behalf of prisoners with serious mental health needs in the El Paso County Jail in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Aug 2, 2004 - Boulder County ACLU Chapter Elects Officers, Including New Chair and Spokesperson
BOULDER, CO - New officers have been elected by the Boulder County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado.

Apr 12, 2004 - ACLU Sues North Metro Drug Task Force on Behalf of Woman Forced to Strip Naked in Full View of Neighbors
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Colorado (ACLU) announced today that it had filed suit Friday against the North Metro Drug Task Force on behalf of a metro-area woman. The suit alleges that Task Force made her strip naked in the parking lot of her condominium in full view of her neighbors and male law enforcement officers and forced her to submit to an unjustified, humiliating, and degrading “decontamination” ritual that had no legitimate purpose whatsoever.

Mar 16, 2004 - ACLU Charges Unnecessary Force and Torture in Letter Summarizing Complaints about Colorado Law Enforcement Agencies Abusing Tasers and Stun Guns
Colorado law enforcement agencies have been using electroshock weapons in an abusive and cruel manner that constitutes unnecessary and unreasonable force and in some cases amounts to outright deliberate torture, ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein asserted in a letter sent yesterday to the Denver Mayor's Task Force on Police.

Mar 15, 2004 - ACLU Files First Amendment Suit Over "Security Zone" at NATO Conference
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Colorado (ACLU) filed suit today against the City of Colorado Springs, asserting that city officials violated the First Amendment when they denied a request from six peace and justice activists that they be permitted to hold signs on the public sidewalk across from the Broadmoor Hotel for one hour during the NATO conference that was held on October 8-9, 2003.

Feb 26, 2004 - Citing In-Custody Deaths, ACLU Calls for Policy Change to Limit Use of Tasers
Citing an increasing number of in-custody deaths associated with law enforcement use of electroshock weapons, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Colorado (ACLU) called on Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman today to tighten the Department's use-of-force policy and restrict officers' use of the taser to situations that present a true threat to human life or safety.

Feb 19, 2004 - ACLU Names Colorado Attorney General as Defendant in Challenge to Criminal Libel Statute and Settles Claims Against City of Greeley
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Colorado (ACLU) announced today that it has added Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar, the state’s chief legal officer, as a defendant in a lawsuit filed last month that asks a federal court to declare Colorado’s criminal libel statute unconstitutional. The ACLU also announced that it was dropping the City of Greeley and its detective from the suit, pursuant to a settlement agreement.

Jan 28, 2004 - ACLU Sues Denver Police Department for Disclosure of Investigation into Citizen's Allegation of Racial Profiling
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) filed suit today against the Denver Police Department (DPD) seeking disclosure of the records of an internal investigation into allegations that Denver police officers engaged in racial profiling, harassment, and used excessive force in an encounter with an African American resident of Denver in April, 2002.

Jan 8, 2004 - ACLU Sues to Stop Weld County Criminal Libel Investigation
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) filed suit today in federal district court seeking an emergency order to stop Weld County law enforcement authorities from pursuing a criminal investigation and prosecution of Thomas Mink, the publisher of an Internet-based publication that features satiric commentary on issues of public concern to the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) community.


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