In a letter to school administrators sent today, the ACLU of Colorado demanded that the Moffat County School District rescind its ban against students wearing “I ♥ Boobies! Keep a Breast!” bracelets in support of breast cancer awareness. Although the bracelets had caused no disruption in school, the school district banned them because some school administrators found the word “boobies” to be offensive. The ACLU’s letter says that the ban is a clear violation of students’ First Amendment right to free expression.

ACLU staff attorney Rebecca T. Wallace said: “Students, just like adults, are protected by the Constitution and have a right to express themselves, particularly when they are just silently and peacefully wearing bracelets to show their support for such an important cause.” “I ♥ Boobies! Keep a Breast!” bracelets are distributed by the Keep-A-Breast Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help eradicate breast cancer by educating young people – in their own language – on methods of prevention, early detection, and support.

Jordan Harmon, a Moffat County Middle School student upon whom the ACLU’s letter focuses, purchased and wore her “I ♥ Boobies! Keep a Breast!” bracelets in support of a close family friend who has fiercely battled the disease. After purchasing the bracelet, Jordan was inspired to visit the Keep-A-Breast Foundation website and learn more about breast cancer.

The school has forbidden Jordan, and other students, from wearing the bracelet.

“Jordan is a perfect example of the effectiveness of these bracelets in raising awareness about breast cancer among young people,” said Ms. Wallace. “Schools should be supporting such an innovative educational tool, rather than squelching students’ First Amendment expressions.”

Last month, at the request of ACLU lawyers, a federal court in Pennsylvania enjoined another school district’s ban of “I ♥ Boobies! Keep a Breast!” bracelets, finding that the bracelets did not significantly disrupt school activities, and that the word “boobies,” is not lewd, vulgar, or indecent in this cancer-fighting context. The ACLU’s letter states that a court battle with the Moffat County School District over this issue is likely to result in a finding – like in the Pennsylvania case – that the bracelet ban is an unconstitutional infringement on students’ First Amendment rights. “The Moffat County School District’s arbitrary ban of this single, selected, harmless word utilized to promote breast cancer awareness is constitutionally indefensible and is simply bad policy,” staff attorney Wallace said. “The ban must be rescinded.”

The ACLU has demanded that the Moffat County School District rescind its ban of the bracelets within one week.

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The ACLU of Colorado has joined the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, the Denver Branch NAACP, members of the family of Marvin L. Booker, and their attorneys, to call for the Department of Justice to investigate the use of force and a pattern of civil rights violations by Denver law enforcement.

“The Denver Safety Manger’s finding that no policy violations occurred in relation to Marvin Booker’s death by restraint at the hands of five deputies, are an admission that sheriff’s department policies sanction homicide and highlights the need for an independent investigation into a pattern or practice of civil rights violations by law enforcement in Denver,” said ACLU Legal Director Mark Silverstein.

The Department of Justice has the authority and the tools to investigate troubling incidents, including the homicide of Mr. Booker, and to evaluate the city’s law enforcement and its policies, practices, training and supervision.

Silverstein said legal efforts to call for the federal investigation will begin immediately with a letter to the Department of Justice.

Establishing a pattern of police misconduct and abuse of power, ACLU Executive Director C. Ray Drew said, is as simple as watching the news.

   -- Marvin L. Booker, a street preacher who was homeless, died July 9, 2010 at age 56 in the new Denver City Jail after sheriff’s deputies used a “sleeper” hold on him, piled on top of him and Tased him. The coroner ruled his death a homicide but the Denver Safety Manager decided deputies violated no policy in causing his death. His family has filed a civil suit.

   -- In 2009, Alex Landau, a 19-year-old college student, was pulled over by police for failing to signal. Police officers demanded that Landau open the truck of his car. Landau responded, with his hands up, and said, “Don’t you need a warrant?” For that question about his constitutional rights, he was badly beaten and suffered permanent injuries. Officers lied and engaged in a cover-up to frame Mr. Landau and avoid liability for their illegal and violent acts. The Internal Affairs Bureau conducted only a cursory investigation. The city settled for more than $800,000.
   -- On June 30, 2009, Michael DeHerrera filed a lawsuit after he was beaten when using his cell phone to inform his father, a Pueblo police officer, that Denver police officers were assaulting his friend. His injuries included head trauma and facial contusions. But officers were only very lightly disciplined. Publicity and public protest convinced the department to reopen the case. It was settled for $17,500.

   -- In January 2009, Denver paid $100,000 to Trudy Trout to settle an excessive force lawsuit. An officer shoved Ms. Trout to the ground, causing her to break her wrist then lied on his report, saying she tripped over her own shoes. The officer was not disciplined for the use of force or for lying on his report.
   -- In 2008, Denver paid $885,000 to settle a lawsuit brought against Denver police officers who used excessive force against Juan Vasquez, a 16 year-old boy. Mr. Vasquez was severely injured after one of the officers used a fence as leverage to jump up and down on his back while he lay prone on the pavement.
   -- In 2007, Denver paid $900,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the estate of Frank Lobato. He was killed when officers looking for a suspect, entered his home without a warrant and shot and killed him while he lay in bed.

    -- In 2004, the City paid the family of Paul Childs $1.32 million to settle a lawsuit brought after Childs, a developmentally disabled 15 year old boy, was fatally shot by a Denver police officer.

 “Law enforcement exists to serve and protect the public, yet the people of Denver, especially people of color, fear the police”, said Drew. “Police departments across the nation have had to clean up their forces and create a new culture of honesty and service. Why aren’t we doing that in Denver?”

Drew continued, “The majority of law enforcement officers are good, honest officers who are trying to do the right thing. But a police department that can’t rid itself of rogue cops is by its own definition, a bad police force.”

Rev. Leon Emerson is President of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance. Superintendent Rev. Patrick Demmer is Political Action Chair of the GMDMA. Sandra Mann is GMDMA Executive Director. Marcus Farmer is President of the Denver Branch NAACP. Dr. Timothy Tyler is Pastor of Shorter Community AME Church. The family of Marvin Booker is represented by Killmer Lane & Newman.

In legal papers filed today, the ACLU of Colorado asked the Colorado Supreme Court to review Boulder’s controversial “no camping” ordinance, which targets homeless residents who are forced to sleep outside at night.

“When homeless persons are turned away from shelters, they have no choice but to sleep outdoors,” said Mark Silverstein, ACLU Legal Director. “Boulder’s ordinance unfairly and unconstitutionally turns them into criminals for this involuntary act. We are asking the court to overturn our client’s conviction.”

Boulder’s no-camping ordinance prohibits sleeping outside with "shelter," which Boulder defines to include any protection from the elements other than clothing. Under the ordinance, merely sleeping outside at night is not "camping," but sleeping while using a blanket or sleeping bag is a crime.

The ACLU’s client, David Madison, a person who is homeless, was charged with violating the camping ordinance in November, 2009, when he slept outside in a sleeping bag during a night when the temperature dropped to 11 degrees. Mr. Madison had sought refuge at the homeless shelter, but there was no space for him. He was found guilty of “camping” in Boulder Municipal Court, based on the court’s ruling that the sleeping bag constituted “shelter” and therefore violated the camping ban.

“Mr. Madison’s case highlights both the absurdity and the cruelty of Boulder’s ordinance,” Silverstein continued. “Because the frost-covered sleeping bag was deemed to be ‘shelter,” the ordinance makes our client a criminal. If our client had just slept in his clothes, he might have gotten frostbite or hypothermia, but he would have been found not guilty.”

On April 20, the Boulder District Court rejected the ACLU’s appeal of Mr. Madison’s conviction, prompting today’s petition for review in the state supreme court. “We have asked the Supreme Court to review this case, not only because of Mr. Madison’s conviction is so obviously unjust,” said Mr. Silverstein, “but also because it is still an open question in Colorado whether or not cities such as Boulder, in what appears to be nothing more than an effort to rid the city of its homeless population, are permitted to criminalize activities that the homeless have no choice but to do, such as sleeping outdoors. We hope that the Supreme Court will say with clarity that homelessness is not a crime.”

If the Supreme Court accepts the case, the ACLU, through cooperating attorneys Mark Walta and David Harrison, will argue that persons who are forced to sleep outdoors have a right to protect themselves from the elements when doing so causes no one any harm. Further, Mr. Walta explains: “Mr. Madison’s conviction constitutes cruel and unusual punishment because it criminalizes one of the essential attributes of homelessness – that the basic activities of daily life, including sleeping, often must be conducted outdoors. The ordinance puts individuals who are homeless in an impossible position – they can either break the law by harmlessly satisfying their need for warmth and shelter against the elements, or they can risk their own health and safety by forsaking these basic needs in order to comply with the letter of the law. This is not justice.”

In the past five years, Boulder has energetically enforced the “no camping” ordinance against the city’s homeless population, prosecuting almost 2000 cases. Yet, Boulder’s primary homeless shelter accommodates only 160 persons, less than a quarter of the city’s estimated homeless population. In 2009, advocates for the homeless, including the Boulder County Chapter of the ACLU, urged the City Council to stop enforcing the ordinance. In January 2010, the council instructed its staff to draft an ordinance declaring a moratorium. A month later the council reversed course and continued enforcing the controversial camping ban.

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