Court Cases

Still v. City of Colorado Springs

Criminal Legal Reform

Filed: December 28, 2017
Status: Victory!
Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
Latest Update: Nov 08, 2017

Summary

This lawsuit challenges a policy of the El Paso County Jail that unjustly and unconstitutionally requires pretrial detainees who are granted release on personal recognizance to be held in jail if they are unable to pay a county-imposed fee of $55.

Jasmine Still, the ACLU’s client, was a pretrial detainee in the El Paso County Jail. A court granted her a personal recognizance (PR) bond, which means that she was entitled to release without having to pay any money. In granting a PR bond, the court made an implicit finding that Ms. Still posed no danger to others and was not a flight risk. Despite the court’s order, the El Paso County Jail continued to keep Ms. Still in jail for an additional 27 days, because she was unable to pay a $55 fee for El Paso County Pretrial Services. Thus, she was imprisoned for 27 days simply because of her poverty.

The El Paso County policy challenged in this case has caused the illegal imprisonment of hundreds of pretrial detainees who have been granted PR bonds. All are innocent in the eyes of the law; they have only been accused, but not convicted, of a crime. The lawsuit seeks compensation for Ms. Still and an end to the unconstitutional policy that keeps persons imprisoned because they are too poor to pay a $55 fee.

The lawsuit was settled when El Paso County agreed to end the challenged policy and compensate Ms. Still. The County also agreed to compensate an additional 184 persons who were illegally imprisoned because of the County's unconstitutional policy.