Bill to be considered February 25 by the House Judiciary Committee at 1:30 pm MT

“Debtors' prison sounds like an archaic term - some long abandoned concept from the pages of a Charles Dickens novel. Unfortunately, their use is alive and well in Colorado and you don't have to travel very far beyond the Capitol to see it.
“The U.S. Constitution and the Colorado Constitution prohibit debtors' prisons. The law requires that, before jailing anyone for unpaid fines, courts must determine whether an individual is too poor to pay. Jailing a person who is unable to pay violates the law, and yet municipal courts across the State of Colorado continue this draconian practice.
“The ACLU conducted a 2-year investigation and discovered that many Coloradans are being jailed for their failure to pay outstanding court fines and fees, and there is no inquiry by the Court into whether the individual has the ability to pay.
“Incarceration under these circumstances is forbidden by the U.S. Constitution. The United States Supreme Court has consistently recognized that to deprive an individual of freedom because, through no fault of their own, they cannot pay is contrary to fundamental fairness that is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
“Make no mistake: this practice exists. And persists. Most of Colorado's largest cities issue pay or serve warrants. In our investigation, we discovered that individuals clearly lacking the ability to pay were jailed for very minor offenses: a dog off-leash, minor traffic infractions, and open container violations.
“Incarcerating the poor creates a two-tiered system of justice. The poorest are punished more harshly and, due to escalating fines and fees that attach because of late payments or non-payments, poor people pay more in fines.
“Incarcerating the poor is fiscally unwise. The taxpayer pays multiple times. First, while incarcerated, there is a cost for the County per day, per bed. Second, the Court forfeits its ability to collect the fines and third, while incarcerated, the defendant risks losing their job and may become dependent on public assistance. This is a net fiscal loss to the taxpayers.
“Our judicial system, which prides itself on equal justice for all, cannot maintain a system whereby some people pay their fines and the poor go to jail. Without question, accountability is an important aspect of our judicial system. But so is fairness.
“The ACLU urges a yes vote on HB 1061.”

February 24, 2014

“It is baffling that Colorado courts and now the U.S Supreme Court have continued to deny the public access to the transcripts and other records of a death penalty case that was concluded six years ago.
“The records of criminal cases, especially where the government seeks an execution, must be open to public review and scrutiny. With questions nationwide and here in Colorado about the deep systematic flaws in administration of the death penalty, these trials should not be conducted in secret.”

Last night at our Annual Membership Meeting, we honored three Coloradans who advanced civil liberties in three different ways. Arlette Baer volunteered for the ACLU of Colorado every week for 40 years, including serving on our Board of Directors for many of those years. Mia Lopez stood up for students’ and women’s rights when she fought her school for the right to continue her academic progress while on maternity leave. And Public Defender Maralina Schoenfelder brought the solitary confinement of children at the El Pueblo Residential Treatment Center to light, helping to end the abusive practice and protect the rights of the children at the facility.

ACLU Operations Manager Caryn Osterman and Arlette Baer

In addition to the awards, we hosted a panel on the impact of economic injustice on civil liberties. We were fortunate to have Colorado Center on Law and Policy’s Executive Director Claire Levy and the Colorado Latino Forum’s Amanda Gonzalez join our very own Legal Director, Mark Silverstein, for a discussion that was especially timely given recent efforts by Grand Junction, Boulder, and Pueblo to limit the rights of the homeless and vulnerable.
Thank you to all of our wonderful members who attended!
Be sure to check out our Flickr page for more pictures of the event.