Court Cases

An ACLU investigation revealed that the Colorado Springs Police Department, the City Attorney’s Office, and the City’s Municipal Court are illegally enforcing the City’s panhandling laws against hundreds of impoverished people who have not violated those laws.

ACLU lawyers filed suit in federal court just five days before Grand Junction's new panhandling ordinance was scheduled to go into effect.

On February 10, 2015, ACLU of Colorado filed a class action lawsuit challenging an anti-panhandling ordinance that is being widely enforced by Fort Collins, in violation of the free speech rights of people who are impoverished and homeless, as well as street performers and non-profit canvassers.

The ACLU filed a complaint against the City of Colorado Springs seeking an order to permanently enjoin enforcement of their "no-solicitation" ordinance.

Members of the Denver City Council were scheduled to debate a proposal that would make it illegal, and impose fines or jail time, for sleeping outside on public property anywhere in the city.

Homeless persons in Boulder are at risk of being prosecuted under a city ordinance that prohibits “camping.”

The City of Colorado Springs had a long history of conducting “sweeps” of public parks and other public areas where the City’s homeless commonly slept, ostensibly for cleaning up the parks and discarding trash. In response to public reports that homeless persons’ private property was commonly seized and destroyed during these “sweeps,” the ACLU interviewed dozens of homeless individuals affected by the City’s policy.