Court Cases

The ACLU of Colorado filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration to enjoin ICE from conducting warrantless arrests in Colorado without probable cause that the person is a flight risk and in the country without proper legal documentation. On November 25, 2025, a federal judge found ICE had unlawfully arrested each of the named plaintiffs, certified a class of similarly situated individuals, and enjoined ICE from arresting anyone in Colorado without a warrant without first making the probable cause findings required by law.

We filed an amicus brief arguing that there is no Free Exercise Clause violation when a governmental body conditions a public benefit on a religion-neutral and generally applicable requirement.

The ACLU of Colorado filed a class action lawsuit seeking a declaration that state of Colorado officials are illegally confining hundreds of children in dangerous detention facilities instead of providing them with community services.

In a lawsuit brought against Colorado and Denver by the federal government, the ACLU of Colorado filed an amicus brief defending state and local laws that limit the diversion of their resources for the purpose of federal civil immigration enforcement. The brief argues that these laws are good policy, as they protect public safety and the functioning of state government, keep state actors within constitutional bounds, and promote the overall well-being of our communities and economy.

The ACLU of Colorado moved to intervene on behalf of Common Cause and individual Colorado voters in a federal lawsuit over the federal government’s demand that Colorado turn over its entire voter registration rolls, including voters’ sensitive personal data.

The ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit challenging Boulder’s ordinance that criminalizes the city’s unhoused residents by making it a crime to sleep outside with a blanket.

The ACLU of Colorado filed an appeal on behalf of a person incarcerated in the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) whose case challenging a prison disciplinary conviction was dismissed because he missed the deadline for filing. Our client alleges he did everything he could to file on time and only missed the deadline because of CDOC’s own delay in providing him the documents he needed. The lower court agreed he had shown good cause for filing late but concluded it had no choice but to ignore those circumstances and apply the deadline strictly to bar his claims.

The ACLU of Colorado joined ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project, Civil Rights Corps, Professors Kellen R. Funk and Sandra G. Mayson, and the Korey Wise Innocence Project in support of a petition for rehearing regarding the state constitutional right to bail.

We are suing the Children's Hospital of Colorado for a policy that discontinues medically necessary, gender-affirming care to patients over 18 while continuing to provide the same care to cisgender patients.