(Written by ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley and published in the November 22 Denver Post)

When Judge Morris B. Hoffman labels racial bias in the criminal justice system as “nonsense,” he does so despite a body of research and data clearly showing the opposite.
According to the non-partisan Sentencing Project, black defendants in the U.S. are 20 percent more likely to be sentenced to prison for the same crimes as white defendants. A recent ACLU report found that nationally, blacks are almost four times more likely to be arrested and charged for low-level drug possession than whites, despite nearly identical usage rates.
These disparities do not correspond to rates of crime. Only racial bias, whether conscious or unconscious, can explain the difference.
Some of Judge Hoffman’s recommendations around reform of mandatory minimum sentencing, probation and drug laws are very good, but our country will never adequately address its obscene rates of incarceration without facing the reality of racial bias.
Nathan Woodliff-Stanley, Denver

November 20, 2014
WASHINGTON – Tonight, President Obama will announce a package of executive actions that could temporarily shield more than 4 million undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Below are preliminary thoughts from ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero:
“The ACLU supports the President for taking necessary action to restore some fairness to our broken immigration system, and to place limits on the devastating deportation machine that has torn apart countless families for too long. Now, millions of people, who have lived under the daily threat of deportation for years, can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
However, President Obama’s executive actions are not a complete solution to the problems plaguing this system. We are extremely concerned about the rights of all six million immigrants excluded from deportation relief, including those who are long-standing neighbors in our communities. Today’s executive actions will also result in more militarization in Southwest border communities, without increasing accountability measures for Customs and Border Protection, the nation’s largest and most dangerous police force. We’re disappointed because at the height of CBP’s crisis of abuses, the White House is requesting more border-security resources, more boots on the throats of border residents.
Today we celebrate with immigrant families around the country, but tomorrow, we join our fellow advocates, organizers and movement leaders to continue the fight for the six million immigrants left unprotected as well as for residents in Southwest border communities – citizen and immigrant alike.”

"It is with deep sorrow that we at the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado learned of the recent passing of Arlette Baer.  As a dedicated volunteer at the ACLU for nearly four decades, Arlette’s contributions had an immeasurable impact on our mission to protect and defend the rights of people throughout Colorado.
"We send our thoughts and condolences to the Baer family.  At our 2014 Annual Meeting, we were honored to award the first-ever Arlette Baer Volunteer of the Year Award.  We will continue to give the award every year in Arlette’s memory to recognize those who have followed in her path and to commemorate her service to our organization, for which we are eternally grateful."

The following tribute was written by ACLU of Colorado Operations Manager Caryn Osterman and included in our 2014 Annual Report:
When we reflect on how fortunate we are to have such valuable and dedicated volunteers at the ACLU of Colorado, the name Arlette Baer always comes up.
Arlette volunteered for the ACLU for almost 40 years.  She started as an intake volunteer, answering calls from those seeking legal assistance back when our office was located in a two-story house on Pennsylvania Street.
Eventually, Arlette became the office’s membership director, volunteering four hours a day, five days a week. When membership soared after 9/11 to over 11,000 members, Arlette tracked every single one of them.
Before the ACLU, Arlette volunteered with the United Farm Workers, picketing in support of boycotts throughout the state.  She also participated in anti-war protests during the Vietnam era.
Her daughter Simmie, herself a dedicated juvenile defense attorney, says of her mother’s experience at the ACLU of Colorado, “The ACLU was my mother’s home away from home. From the time it was an office of three people, through its many transitions and buildings, she considered everyone her family and made sure she got to the office by 7 in the morning to make coffee.  Her decades at the ACLU provided her friendship, purpose, and the good fight!”