Court Cases

The ACLU of Colorado filed a lawsuit against an Aurora landlord after repeated threats to report tenants to immigration authorities. The court entered a preliminary injunction ordering the landlord not to threaten, harass, or retaliate our clients, including through disclosure of information about their immigration or citizenship status. The landlord then petitioned for bankruptcy, and the ACLU case is stayed in state court while that proceeding progresses. The preliminary injunction remains in full force and effect.

In a precedent setting opinion, the court stated that “the use of less-lethal munitions—as with any other type of pain-inflicting compliance technique—is unconstitutionally excessive force when applied to an unthreatening protester who has neither committed a serious offense nor attempted to flee."

The ACLU of Colorado filed an amicus brief urging the Colorado Supreme Court to conclude that Colorado state protections preempt municipal sentencing schemes that punish identical conduct more harshly and such schemes violate Colorado’s longstanding equal protection guarantee. On December 22, 2025, the Court held that municipalities may not authorize harsher sentences than state law allows for an identical offense.

The ACLU of Colorado filed an amicus brief with the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition urging the Colorado Court of Appeals to uphold a ruling that fees for body-worn camera footage are not authorized by Colorado’s Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act passed in 2020.

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 filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the enforcement of President Trump’s recent executive order targeting National Public Radio (NPR) and threatening local public radio stations.

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 ACLU of Colorado filed an Amicus Brief seeking to provide the Court with Colorado-specific context that counsels strongly against eroding the protection provided by a second competency evaluation by an evaluator of the raising party’s choice.

The ACLU of Colorado sent a letter to the Superintendent of Littleton Public Schools after being notified that a student was discouraged from sitting in protest during the Pledge of Allegiance.