Howard vs Denver

This lawsuit challenged two Denver policies that keep people in jail simply because of their poverty.

Mickey Howard, the ACLU’s client, was held in Denver’s jail on a minor charge for which the court imposed a $10 bond. Mr. Howard could have posted the $10 bond, but Denver kept Mr. Howard in jail for five days because he could not pay an additional $50 “bond fee.”

When Mr. Howard first arrived at the jail, he had $64, enough to pay the court-ordered $10 bond as well as Denver’s additional $50 “bond fee.” At the time of booking, however, Denver took $30 from Mr. Howard as a “booking fee.” That left Mr. Howard with only $34, which was not enough to buy his release.

The ACLU’s lawsuit targeted two Denver policies that caused Mr. Howard’s unlawful detention:

Requiring defendants to pay a $50 bond fee, in addition to the court-ordered monetary bond, in order to gain their release; and

Taking $30 from defendants at booking even when that will make them unable to post bond or pay the bond fee.

Update: As a result of the lawsuit, Denver agreed to end the challenged policies and pay compensation to Mr. Howard.

• "ACLU sues Denver for jailing man who could not pay $50 fee," ACLU News Release, October 10, 2018
• "ACLU and Denver settle case of man held in jail over a $50 fee," ACLU News Release, December 20, 2018

• “Man held in Denver jail five days because he couldn’t pay $50 bond fee, lawsuit says,” The Denver Post, October 11, 2018
• “Denver defendants cannot be kept in jail for failure to pay $50 bail assessment fee, court orders,” The Denver Post, October 12, 2018
• “Denver criminal defendants no longer have to pay hundreds for pre-trial ankle monitors,” The Denver Post, December 19, 2018
• “Denver settles lawsuit with man held in jail for five days because he couldn’t afford $50 fee,” The Denver Post, December 20, 2018