This lawsuit challenged two Denver policies that keep people in jail simply because of their poverty.

Mickey Howard, the ACLU’s client, was held in Denver’s jail on a minor charge for which the court imposed a $10 bond.    Mr. Howard could have posted the $10 bond, but Denver kept Mr. Howard in jail for five days because he could not pay an additional $50 “bond fee.”

When Mr. Howard first arrived  at the jail, he had $64, enough to pay the court-ordered $10 bond as well as Denver’s additional $50 “bond fee.”   At the time of booking, however, Denver took $30 from Mr. Howard as a “booking fee.”  That left Mr. Howard with only $34, which was not enough to buy his release. 

The ACLU’s lawsuit targeted two Denver policies that caused Mr. Howard’s unlawful detention:

            Requiring defendants to pay a $50 bond fee, in addition to the court-ordered monetary bond, in order to gain their release; and

            Taking $30 from defendants at booking even when that will make them unable to post bond or pay the bond fee. 

Update:  As a result of the lawsuit, Denver agreed to end the challenged policies and pay compensation to Mr. Howard. 

ACLU Press Releases:

Media:

Attorney(s)

Rebecca Wallace, ACLU of Colorado Staff Attorney; Mark Silverstein, ACLU of Colorado Legal Director

Case number

No. 18-cv-02593