Mortis v. Polis (Amicus)

The ACLU of Colorado filed an amicus brief in support of a class action lawsuit brought by incarcerated Coloradans alleging the state is violating the voter-approved constitutional amendment banning slavery in all instances—including for those convicted of crimes.

The class action lawsuit, filed in 2022 by Richard Lilgerose and Harold Mortis on behalf of thousands of incarcerated Coloradans, represents the nation’s first major legal challenge following a state’s voter-approved constitutional amendment banning slavery in all instances—including for those convicted of crimes. Despite Colorado voters updating Colorado’s anti-slavery protections by passing Amendment A in 2018, plaintiffs alleged the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) continued operating a system of involuntary servitude backed by severe punishments and sanctions. The lawsuit argued that threatening prisoners with loss of privileges or solitary confinement for refusing to work constitutes unlawful forced labor.

The ACLU of Colorado, along with the MacArthur Justice Center, filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs’ challenge to the compelled work requirement. The amicus brief explained how forced prison labor regimes were facilitated by the punishment exception in the federal Thirteenth Amendment—an amendment Colorado initially copied into its own constitution—and how Amendment A was designed to eradicate those regimes.

Through the course of litigation, scores of people in CDOC came forward with stories of being subjected to forced labor, involuntary servitude and conditions many described as feeling like slavery. After trial, the Court ruled that CDOC’s practices constitute involuntary servitude in violation of Colorado’s Constitution concluding that “the machinery of coercion is not isolated but is a pervasive and actively operationalized feature of CDOC’s labor management.”