Court Cases

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

In two cases involving DHS workers’ interrogations of parents in jail, the Colorado Supreme Court held that the DHS workers were not acting as agents of law enforcement so Miranda warnings were not required.

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."

In 2019, the CO Supreme Court changed how lengthy sentences are reviewed for proportionality. Now, the Court will decide whether people who were sentenced before 2019 can benefit from those changes.

The ACLU of Colorado filed an amicus brief with Spero Justice and Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel arguing that Colorado’s habitual sentencing scheme is unconstitutional.

The ACLU of Colorado is investigating and bringing habeas corpus cases based on unlawful practices occurring in the Pueblo Municipal Court where the court is issuing new “Contempt of Court” charges against defendants for missing court dates, resulting in extreme and illegal jail sentences.

We filed another amicus brief urging the Colorado Supreme Court to conclude that Colorado’s longstanding equal protection guarantee is violated when two laws punish identical conduct in dramatically different ways.

We filed an amicus brief calling for an end to mandatory life without parole sentences for people convicted of felony murder.

The ACLU of Colorado filed an amicus brief along with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers calling for the Colorado Supreme Court to recognize that a person held at a police station for two hours, restrained with bags over her hands, interrogated, and not permitted to leave, is in police custody, and thus must be read a Miranda advisement, no matter how police characterize the situation.