Legal
2008 Democratic National Convention

WHAT SHOULD I DO IF I BELIVE MY CIVIL RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED DURING
THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION IN DENVER?

This letter explains how you can make a report and request legal assistance from the ACLU of Colorado if you believe your civil rights may have been violated during the Democratic National Convention.  Although the ACLU is interested in investigating your report of a possible civil rights violation, requesting legal assistance does not mean that the ACLU of Colorado has agreed to represent you in any way.  Your report may prompt an investigation by the ACLU of Colorado’s legal staff to determine whether or not we can offer you any legal assistance, and at the end of any investigation, we will contact you to let you know whether or not we can off any legal assistance.  In the meantime, however, you remain responsible for protecting your legal rights and meeting any time limitations or deadlines for legal claims.

1.  What is the difference between a civil and criminal case?

Generally, a criminal case is one where the government has charged you with a crime.  Common charges during the DNC might include interference with police authority, obstruction of streets, disrupting of lawful assembly, or other criminal charges.  In criminal cases, it is the government’s burden to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that you are guilty of the crimes with which you have been charged.  If you are convicted of that crime, you could face penalties such as fines or time in jail.  In most cases the ACLU of Colorado cannot provide any legal assistance with a criminal case.  If you are seeking legal representation in a criminal case connected to the DNC, you may want to contact the People’s Law Project at 303-830-0277.

A civil case is a lawsuit filed by one party (the “plaintiff”) against another party (the “defendant”) where the plaintiff is asking the court to require the defendant to take some action, such as ordering the defendant to stop a certain practice or to pay money to the plaintiff, based upon some wrong caused by the defendant.  In the context of a civil rights violation during the Democratic National Convention, the plaintiff may be a person alleging that their rights had been violated by law enforcement, and the defendant might be the law enforcement officer the plaintiff alleges violated his or her rights, and/or the government entity or police department employing the officer.  In these civil cases, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove that the police officer’s actions violated the law.

2.  How can I report violations of my civil rights during the DNC to the ACLU of Colorado?

The first step in reporting incidents that you believed violated your civil rights is to gather all the available information and submit it to the ACLU of Colorado.

The ACLU of Colorado’s resources are limited, and especially given the number of reports we have received regarding alleged civil rights violations during the DNC, it will be difficult for the ACLU of Colorado to independently investigate every report.  You can help ensure that we can quickly and fully evaluate your request for legal assistance by taking the following steps on your own to assist our investigation:

• Send the ACLU of Colorado a confidential letter describing in detail the incident(s) that you believe violated your civil rights.  Tell us about the incident(s) that you believe violated your civil rights, describing the “who, what, when, where and why” of what happened in as much detail as possible.  Provide the names and/or badge numbers of officers, what jurisdiction or department (Denver Police Department, Denver Sheriff Department, Aurora Police Department, etc.) the officers were from, and the names and contact information for witnesses, whenever you have them.
  
  
• Send copies of any records or other evidence you have—DO NOT SEND ORIGINALS.  If you have copies of tickets, summons, court papers, photographs, videos, or any other evidence related to the incident, please send copies of those records.  Please send copies only, as we cannot return originals.
  
  
• Obtain the law enforcement agency records of the incident.  If you haven’t done so already, you should ask Denver for all the records they have related to the incident that you believe violated your civil rights.  In most instances, Denver law enforcement officers are required to keep “incident reports” describing their version of events regarding their contact with citizens.  In addition, the police may have other records like photographs, witness statements, videos, dispatch logs, and other forms and reports.  The records regarding your contact with the police are public records, and you should obtain them by requesting copies from the Denver Police Department. 
  You can request all records related to your specific interaction with officers on the streets during the DNC at 1331 Cherokee Street, Room 420, Denver, CO  80204, or by calling 720-913-6755.  There will be a copying charge for the records.

The Denver Sheriff’s Department is responsible for operating the Pre-Arraignment Detention Facility (downtown City jail), the Denver County Jail (out on Smith Road), the holding cells in the City and County Building (where people are detained immediately before and after court appearances) and during the DNC, the Temporary Arrestee Processing Center (the temporary warehouse facility).  If your complaint involves the condition of those facilities or your treatment at these facilities, you can ask to obtain those records by calling the Records Coordinator for the Denver Manager of Safety at 720-913-6262.  These records may include booking paperwork, property paperwork, incident reports, written grievances, log sheets, and other records and reports.  There will be a copying charge for the records.

• File a formal complaint in writing with the Denver Office of the Independent Monitor

NOTE:  If you have pending criminal charges resulting from the same incident that you believe involved a violation of your civil rights, you should first speak with your criminal defense attorney before filing any complaint.

The Denver Office of the Independent Monitor (OIM) is a civilian oversight agency that monitors and investigates alleged misconduct of Denver Police Department and Denver Sheriff Department officers.  The OIM is also responsible for monitoring and investigating the actions of law enforcement officers from other jurisdictions (such as officers from Aurora or Golden) that were working in Denver during the DNC.  Filing a complaint with the OIM is critically important, as it will create a written record about the allegation of your civil rights violation and result in an investigation of that incident.  In some cases, the investigators may also be able to gather additional information relevant to your complaint that you don’t have, for example, the name and badge number of an officer that you were not able to identify at the time.  In some cases, complaints may result in the discipline of officers.

You can submit an OIM complaint online or print out a paper form by clicking on the link. If you are unable to access the internet, please contact Debra Woods, ACLU of Colorado Legal Assistant, at 303-777-5482 x113 and she can mail a paper OIM complaint form to you.

Before you submit your complaint online, or before you mail or hand deliver your written complaint, you should print out or make 2 copies:  1 copy for your own records, and 1 copy to send to the ACLU of Colorado.  If you have already filed such a complaint, please send us copies of the complaint and any response you have received.

• Obtain any hospital records relating to injuries you suffered.  If you suffered and were treated for any physical injuries, you should also obtain copies of any hospital or medical records documenting your injuries if you have not already done so.

You do not need to complete all these steps at the same time (for example, you can first send your letter describing your situation to the ACLU, and then file your complaint with OIM and obtain your records from the police department).  The more of these steps you can ultimately complete, however, the more effectively we can evaluate your request for legal assistance.

In addition to the records you obtain above, the ACLU of Colorado might also be able to request additional records or materials regarding the incident, or request records that Denver refused to give to you.  If you would like us to also be able to request your records, it will be necessary to obtain your written authorization via our standard release form.   If our standard release form is not already enclosed in this letter, you can request one from Debra Woods, ACLU of Colorado Legal Assistant, at 303-777-5482 x113.  If you want to authorize the ACLU to request any records related to the incident you believe violated your civil rights, please fill out and return the release.  Do not fill out the “To:” field at the top of the form; we will fill that out when we send a request.

3.  What will happen after I submit my report and request for legal assistance to the ACLU of Colorado?

Unlike criminal cases, which usually resolve in a short time frame in a matter of months, civil cases can take years to resolve.  The investigation alone can take months in order to determine whether or not there is a valid legal claim that the ACLU of Colorado may be able to assist with.  You should also know that the law does not treat every type of mistreatment by police as illegal or unconstitutional.  Example of types of mistreatment for which a claim might be possible include:  if you were detained (including a traffic stop) or searched by police without reasonable suspicion or for too long; if you were arrested when no reasonable officer would have believed their was probable cause for your arrest; if you were denied the right to call or visit with an attorney at your place of custody; or if you were subjected to unnecessary and excessive force.  Whether or not a particular incident gives rise to a possible civil claim is often a complex question that depends greatly on the particular facts and circumstances of the individual case.  Thus, it is often necessary to spend a significant amount of time gathering and investigating facts before any determination about your request for legal assistance can be made.

As noted above, the more information you are able to provide to the ACLU of Colorado by filing your own OIM complaint and obtaining your own records, the more quickly we can evaluate your report.  In all cases, however, it will likely take some time for us to respond given the number of complaints received after the DNC, and our limited resources.  Please know that we will respond as soon as we can.  If you have questions about the status of your request for legal assistance in the interim, you can contact Debra Woods, ACLU of Colorado Legal Assistant, at 303-777-5482 x113.

If the ACLU accepts your case, there is no charge for the time spent by the attorneys. In some cases, you may be asked to help pay for the expenses of the litigation, such as filing fees and depositions.

4.  There may be time limits and deadlines related to your possible claims

As stated at the beginning of this letter, although the ACLU is interested in investigating your report and request for legal assistance, we have not agreed to represent you or to protect your rights in any other way. You remain responsible for protecting your legal rights.  Most legal claims have time limitations, and the failure to meet these time limitations can prejudice or forfeit your right to initiate a legal claim.

The ACLU of Colorado cannot answer specific questions about the legal deadlines that might apply to your specific case.  You should consult with an attorney who can answer questions about the deadlines and requirements that apply to your potential claims.  Below is general information on two common deadlines, however, of which you should be aware:

Colorado Governmental Immunity Act Notice:  A Colorado law, the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (“CGIA”), requires that in order to preserve claims you might have under Colorado state law you must file a “Notice of Claim” within 180 days of the date of the discovery of the injury.  The Notice must include certain information, for example, your name and address, the facts of the incident, the name of the public employees if known, the facts of your injury, and the damages requested.  There are also special requirements on how the notice must be sent to the government entity.  In Denver, for example, the Notice can be sent to the Denver City Attorney by registered mail or personal delivery.  The Colorado law that contains all the requirements can be found here:  http://tiny.cc/CGIA.  If you do not file the Notice within 180 days of your injury, you can lose your right to ever bring any state law claims for that injury.  Claims under federal law or the U.S. Constitution are not subject to the CGIA notice requirement.  If you have any questions about how to file a Notice, or the applicability of this law to your situation, you should consult with an attorney.

Statute of limitations:  A “statute of limitations” is a legal requirement that you bring a lawsuit within a certain timeframe after the date of injury.  If you fail to bring the lawsuit within this timeframe, you can lose your right to ever bring that claim.  In Colorado, the statute of limitations for many state claims under Colorado law, such as false arrest and false imprisonment, is 1 year from the date of injury.  In Colorado, the statute of limitations for claims alleging violations of the U.S. Constitution is 2 years from the date of injury.  The deadlines that apply to you may be different based upon your potential claims and the circumstances of those claims.  If you have any questions about which statutes of limitations may apply to your potential claims and the deadlines under those statutes, you should consult with an attorney.

6.  What if the ACLU of Colorado cannot offer me legal assistance?

In many cases, however, reports about possible civil rights violations during the DNC will be valuable and important even if the ACLU of Colorado is unable to offer legal assistance.  In these cases, the ACLU of Colorado may be able to use your complaint to write a letter to the appropriate authorities, or to compile complaints in a report that documents mistreatment or civil rights violations that occurred during the DNC.  Or a letter from the ACLU of Colorado might seek additional information or might advocate on your behalf.  When you write back, let us know whether you approve of the ACLU writing such a letter or including your story in a report if we believe it would be appropriate.

If the ACLU is not able to provide legal assistance, however, we also cannot provide legal advice about your case. We won’t be able to answer questions about the legal significance of the facts, conduct legal research, or provide specific information about the legal deadlines that might apply to your situation.

When you write the ACLU of Colorado, please put “Attn:  DNC Intake” clearly on your letter and on the outside of the envelope.

Sincerely,

Intake Department
ACLU of Colorado

Enclosures (if boxes are checked):

• ACLU of Colorado Authorization for Release
  
  
• Office of the Independent Monitor Complaint/Commendation Form

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