Court Cases

Today the ACLU of Colorado asked the Denver Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau to re-open its investigation into two African-American citizens’ complaints of racial profiling arising from a traffic stop on February 13, 2009.

The ACLU and ACLU of Colorado called upon the Colorado Department of Corrections to abandon a new policy that subjects prisoners to degrading body cavity searches.

The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office improved legal access for prisoners at the Yuma County Jail after ACLU of Colorado Staff Attorney Taylor Pendergrass raised concerns about the jail’s policy.

With the assistance of the ACLU of Colorado, a prisoner in Fremont Correctional Facility was able to receive new, unused colostomy bags as required by his physician.

In response to a letter from the ACLU of Colorado, the Boulder County Sheriff made improvements to a computer database to lessen the chance that persons would be wrongfully arrested for tickets they had already paid.

At its core, religion is a personal choice. Yet for prisoners in an El Paso County Jail, until recent intervention by the ACLU of Colorado, faith wasn't enough. For inmates whose religious beliefs extended to their meals, i.e. keeping kosher, halal, or vegetarian, simply stating a need for a particular diet was insufficient. They had to provide a letter from a “licensed/ordained clergy person” confirming their status as a practicing member of the faith before the jail would serve them religious meals.

A months-long ACLU investigation resulted in a resounding success for basic human rights and dignity for persons charged with crimes in Weld County.