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.

The ACLU of Colorado filed an amicus brief arguing that Colorado’s Sexually Violent Predator designation is punishment.

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 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 sent a letter to the City of Westminster regarding its likely unconstitutional ordinance limiting solicitation on public streets and intersections.

This case concerns the Colorado Springs Police Department’s use of unconstitutional warrants to comb through activists’ digital data in retaliation for their political speech and association.

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 sued the Elizabeth School District because it banned and removed at least 19 books from school libraries based on the school board’s disagreement with the ideas they contain. The plaintiffs include students who have a right to access those books.