colorado department of corrections
-
Joint Budget Committee greenlights $2.8M for Colorado prisons amid overcrowding crisis
—
by
The General Assembly’s Joint Budget Committee has approved nearly $3 million in supplemental funding for the Colorado Department of Corrections to cover the cost of additional prison beds amid an ongoing crisis of prison overcrowding. Last month, DOC facilities reached a vacancy level of 3% for 30 consecutive days, prompting the governor to implement the…
-
Federal judge agrees state’s ‘intercept’ of man’s $3.5 million jury award was proper
—
by
A federal judge agreed last month that Colorado acted properly by not paying a man directly for violating his rights, but instead crediting the jury’s multimillion-dollar award toward the crime victim restitution he still owed in his criminal case. Addressing an unusual question, U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews determined it was permissible for…
-
Federal judge lets prisoner’s claim proceed over strip search video shared with others
—
by
A federal judge agreed last week that an incarcerated man’s claims could proceed against two state corrections employees, alleging they retaliated against him for complaining about recorded strip searches and also showed the video of one search to inmates and staff. Representing himself, Ryan James Griffin filed suit based on multiple strip searches he underwent…
-
Federal judge once again dismisses lawsuit of prison employee offended by DEI training
—
by
A federal judge dismissed a second lawsuit on Monday brought by a former Colorado Department of Corrections employee who was offended by an equity training module and alleged it created a hostile work environment. In 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang dismissed Joshua F. Young’s first lawsuit on the grounds that he failed…
-
Federal judge says jury not influenced by incarcerated plaintiff’s appearance in shackles
—
by
A federal judge last month rejected an incarcerated plaintiff’s request for a new civil trial in his constitutional rights lawsuit, concluding the jury was not influenced by the man’s appearance in shackles at trial. This summer, Dean Carbajal received a jury trial on his claim that Colorado Department of Corrections employees failed to protect him…
-
Federal judge finds no constitutional violation of inmate’s right to religious diet
—
by
A federal judge ended a 5-year-old lawsuit against the state last week by agreeing an incarcerated man had not shown the religious diet served to him in prison violated his rights. Russell M. Boles in 2019 sued the Colorado Department of Corrections, the food service administrator and a rabbi contracted to consult about kosher diets…
-
10th Circuit says prisoner shot at courthouse cannot sue without complaining to prison first
—
by
The federal appeals court based in Denver ruled on Tuesday that an incarcerated man shot by a corrections officer during his courthouse appearance was required to first file an internal prison grievance before suing for excessive force, even though he was outside the prison at the time. In reaching its conclusion, a three-judge panel of…
-
Federal judge green-lights former inmate’s disability discrimination claim for trial
—
by
A federal judge last month agreed a jury would decide whether the Colorado Department of Corrections intentionally discriminated against an incarcerated man by imposing restrictions on him after he failed to report to work because of his disability. However, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang observed plaintiff Charles Williams is not entitled to most…
-
Federal judge declines to intervene after state ‘intercepted’ Colorado man’s $3.5 million jury award
—
by
A federal judge on Thursday concluded he did not have the authority to intervene as Colorado performed an “administrative intercept” of the $3.5 million a jury awarded a plaintiff more than a year ago for violations of his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews acknowledged there might…
-
Federal judge declines to intervene after state ‘intercepted’ Colorado man’s $3.5 million jury award
—
by
A federal judge on Thursday concluded he did not have the authority to intervene as Colorado performed an “administrative intercept” of the $3.5 million a jury awarded a plaintiff more than a year ago for violations of his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews acknowledged there might…
