Case: Howard v. City and County of Denver

1:18-cv-02593 | U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

Filed Date: June 9, 2018

Closed Date: 2018

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Case Summary

On June 9, 2018, the plaintiff in this case was arrested in Denver, Colorado; he was then unable to make his $10 bond, because the government imposed numerous additional fees. He brought this law suit against the City and County of Denver on October 10, 2018 in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado. He proceeded under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for allegedly violating his 14th Amendment right to due process and equal protection. Specifically, he complained about a Colorado requirement that individuals arrested pay at minimum a $50 before release. The plaintiff claimed Denver had detained him solely because of his inability to make monetary payment, wrongfully depriving him of his liberty. He was represented by the ACLU and sought compensation and policy reform.

The case was initially assigned to Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter, and later reassigned to Judge Wiley Y. Daniel and again reassigned to Christine M. Arguello on December 6, 2018.

The plaintiff entered jail with $64.24, sufficient to pay for his $10 cash bond and even an additional $50 bond fee. However, Denver took an additional $30 for booking fees, which the plaintiff could not afford to pay. The charges against the plaintiff were later dismissed.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Denver stopped collecting the $30 booking fee, the $50 bond fee, and the pretrial electronic monitoring fees. On December 13, Denver submitted an Offer of Judgment in favor of the plaintiff and agreed to pay $30,000 to cover attorney’s fees and costs. On December 21, the plaintiff accepted the offer, and then on January 30, 2019, voluntarily dismissed the case. The case is now closed.

Summary Authors

Averyn Lee (2/11/2019)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15056795/parties/howard-v-city-and-county-of-denver-colorado-the/

Judge(s)

Arguello, Christine M. (Colorado)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Maxted, David George (Colorado)

Silverstein, Mark (Colorado)

Attorney for Defendant

Horn, Michele Annette (Colorado)

Schmidt, Lauren Elizabeth (Colorado)

Judge(s)

Arguello, Christine M. (Colorado)

Varholak, Scott T. (Colorado)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Maxted, David George (Colorado)

Silverstein, Mark (Colorado)

Wallace, Rebecca Teitelbaum (Colorado)

Attorney for Defendant

Horn, Michele Annette (Colorado)

Schmidt, Lauren Elizabeth (Colorado)

Attorney Contact Information via CourtListener

Documents in the Clearinghouse

Documents in this case

1:18-cv-02593	Docket [PACER]	Jan. 30, 2019	Jan. 30, 2019 Docket
1 1:18-cv-02593	Complaint	Oct. 10, 2018	Oct. 10, 2018 Complaint
22 1:18-cv-02593	Notice of Acceptance and Offer of Judgment	Dec. 21, 2018	Dec. 21, 2018 Internal memorandum

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Resources

Resources related to this case
Title	Description		External URL Date / External URL
DOJ Dear Colleague Letter to Courts Regarding Fines and Fees for Youth and Adults U.S. Department of Justice	The DOJ issued a Dear Colleague letter for state and local courts and juvenile justice agencies regarding the imposition and enforcement of fines and fees for adults and youth. The letter highlights …	April 20, 2023	April 20, 2023 https://www.justice.gov/...
Howard vs Denver ACLU of Colorado	[This is the ACLU case page] The ACLU of Colorado sued Denver on behalf of Mickey Howard, who was held in the Denver Jail for 5 days after a court ordered his release upon payment of a $10 bon…	Oct. 10, 2018	Oct. 10, 2018 https://aclu-co.org/...

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Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15056795/howard-v-city-and-county-of-denver-colorado-the/

Last updated April 1, 2026, 5:17 a.m.

ECF Number	Date	Description	Link
1	Oct. 10, 2018	COMPLAINT and Jury Demand against City and County of Denver, Colorado (Filing fee $ 400,Receipt Number 1082-6336261)Attorney Rebecca Teitelbaum Wallace added to party Mickey Howard(pty:pla), filed by Mickey Howard. (Attachments: # 1 Summons, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(Wallace, Rebecca) (Entered: 10/10/2018) 1 Summons View on PACER 2 Civil Cover Sheet View on PACER	RECAP
2	Oct. 10, 2018	NOTICE of Entry of Appearance for Mark Silverstein by Mark Silverstein on behalf of Mickey HowardAttorney Mark Silverstein added to party Mickey Howard(pty:pla) (Silverstein, Mark) (Entered: 10/10/2018)	RECAP
3	Oct. 10, 2018	Case assigned to Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter. Text Only Entry (dbera, ) (Entered: 10/10/2018)	RECAP
4	Oct. 10, 2018	SUMMONS issued by Clerk. (Attachments: # 1 Magistrate Judge Consent Form) (dbera, ) (Entered: 10/10/2018) 1 Magistrate Judge Consent Form View on PACER	RECAP
5	Oct. 10, 2018	ORDER OF RECUSAL by Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter on 10/10/2018. (slibi, ) (Entered: 10/10/2018)	RECAP
6	Oct. 10, 2018	CASE REASSIGNED. Pursuant to Order of Recusal. This case is randomly reassigned to Judge Wiley Y. Daniel in the presider role and Magistrate Judge Nina Y. Wang in the referral role. All future pleadings should be designated as 18-cv-02593-WYD-NYW. (Text Only Entry) (slibi, ) (Entered: 10/10/2018)	RECAP
7	Oct. 15, 2018	Magistrate Judge consent form issued pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 636(c). (slibi, ) (Entered: 10/15/2018)	RECAP
8	Oct. 16, 2018	MEMORANDUM RETURNING CASE by Judge Wiley Y. Daniel. (rkeec) (Entered: 10/16/2018)	RECAP
9	Oct. 16, 2018	CASE REASSIGNED pursuant to 8 Memorandum Returning Case. This case is randomly reassigned to Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak. All future pleadings should be designated as 18-cv-02593-STV. (Text Only Entry) (rkeec) (Entered: 10/16/2018)	RECAP
10	Oct. 16, 2018	Magistrate Judge consent form issued pursuant to D.C.COLO.LCivR 40.1, direct assignment of civil actions to full time magistrate judges. (rkeec) (Entered: 10/16/2018)	RECAP
11	Oct. 16, 2018	ORDER Setting Scheduling Conference for 12/17/2018 10:30 AM in Courtroom A 402 before Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak. Consent Form due by 12/3/2018, by Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak on 10/16/2018. (jgonz, ) Modified on 10/17/2018 to correct socket text(jgonz, ). (Entered: 10/17/2018)	RECAP
12	Oct. 26, 2018	WAIVER OF SERVICE Returned Executed by Mickey Howard. City and County of Denver, Colorado, The waiver sent on 10/11/2018, answer due 12/10/2018. (Silverstein, Mark) (Entered: 10/26/2018)	RECAP
13	Nov. 20, 2018	NOTICE of Entry of Appearance by Michele Annette Horn on behalf of City and County of Denver, Colorado, TheAttorney Michele Annette Horn added to party City and County of Denver, Colorado, The(pty:dft) (Horn, Michele) (Entered: 11/20/2018)	RECAP
14	Nov. 20, 2018	NOTICE of Entry of Appearance by Lauren Elizabeth Schmidt on behalf of City and County of Denver, Colorado, TheAttorney Lauren Elizabeth Schmidt added to party City and County of Denver, Colorado, The(pty:dft) (Schmidt, Lauren) (Entered: 11/20/2018)	RECAP
15	Nov. 26, 2018	STIPULATION for Extension of Time to Answer or Respond to the Complaint by Defendant City and County of Denver, Colorado, The. City and County of Denver, Colorado, The answer due 12/31/2018. (Schmidt, Lauren) (Entered: 11/26/2018)	RECAP
16	Nov. 26, 2018	Joint MOTION to Amend/Correct/Modify 11 Order, to Reschedule Rule 16 Scheduling Conference and Related Deadlines by Defendant City and County of Denver, Colorado, The. (Schmidt, Lauren) (Entered: 11/26/2018)	RECAP
17	Nov. 26, 2018	ORDER granting 16 Motion to Amend/Correct/Modify. The Scheduling Conference set for 12/17/2018 10:30 AM is VACATED and RESET for 1/30/2019 09:00 AM in Courtroom A 402 before Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak. Consent/Non-Consent to Magistrate Judge Jurisdiction Form due by 1/16/2019. The parties shall file a joint proposed scheduling order on or before 1/23/2019. SO ORDERED, by Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak on 11/26/2018. Text Only Entry (stvlc2, ) (Entered: 11/26/2018)	RECAP
18	Dec. 4, 2018	CONSENT to Jurisdiction of Magistrate Judge by Defendant City and County of Denver, Colorado, The All parties do not consent.. (Horn, Michele) (Entered: 12/04/2018)	RECAP
19	Dec. 6, 2018	CASE REASSIGNED pursuant to 18 Consent/Non-Consent to Jurisdiction of Magistrate Judge. All parties do not consent. This case is randomly reassigned to Judge Christine M. Arguello. All future pleadings should be designated as 18-cv-02593-CMA. (Text Only Entry) (jgonz, ) (Entered: 12/06/2018)	RECAP
20	Dec. 6, 2018	ORDER REFERRING CASE to Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak. Magistrate Judge Varholak is designated to conduct NDISPO proceedings pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A) and (B) and Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a) and (b). The parties should expect to be given a firm trial setting that is 90 to 120 days from the date of the final pretrial conference, and should be available for trial accordingly. FURTHER, Court-sponsored alternative dispute resolution is governed by D.C.COLO.LCivR 16.6. On the recommendation or informal request of the magistrate judge or on the request of the parties by motion, the Court may direct the parties to engage in an early neutral evaluation, a settlement conference, or another alternative dispute resolution proceeding. SO ORDERED by Judge Christine M. Arguello on 12/6/2018. Text Only Entry (cmasec) (Entered: 12/06/2018)	RECAP
21	Dec. 11, 2018	NOTICE of Entry of Appearance by David George Maxted on behalf of Mickey HowardAttorney David George Maxted added to party Mickey Howard(pty:pla) (Maxted, David) (Entered: 12/11/2018)	RECAP
22	Dec. 21, 2018	NOTICE of Acceptance with Offer of Judgment by Plaintiff Mickey Howard (Attachments: # 1 Denver's Offer of Judgment)(Wallace, Rebecca) (Entered: 12/21/2018) 1 Denver's Offer of Judgment View on PACER	RECAP
23	Jan. 2, 2019	MINUTE ORDER. In light of 22 Notice of Acceptance with Offer of Judgment, the Scheduling Conference set for 1/30/2019 09:00 AM in Courtroom A 402 is VACATED. SO ORDERED, by Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak on 1/2/2019. Text Only Entry (stvlc2, ) (Entered: 01/02/2019)	RECAP
24	Jan. 2, 2019	ORDER: In light of the parties' 22 Notice of Acceptance With Offer of Judgment, the parties are DIRECTED to file appropriate dismissal documents in this matter by NO LATER THAN 1/30/2019. SO ORDERED by Judge Christine M. Arguello on 1/2/2019. Text Only Entry (cmasec) (Entered: 01/02/2019)	RECAP
25	Jan. 30, 2019	STIPULATION of Dismissal of Case by Plaintiff Mickey Howard. (Wallace, Rebecca) (Entered: 01/30/2019)	RECAP
26	Jan. 30, 2019	Civil Case Terminated pursuant to the 25 Stipulation of Dismissal filed in this case. Text Only Entry (cmasec) (Entered: 01/30/2019)	RECAP

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Case Details

State / Territory:

Colorado

Case Type(s):

Criminal Justice (Other)

Special Collection(s):

Fines/Fees/Bail Reform (Criminalization of Poverty)

Multi-LexSum (in sample)

Key Dates

Filing Date: June 9, 2018

Closing Date: 2018

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

A resident of Denver, arrested and unable for a time to make bail, due to the fees imposed by the government.

Plaintiff Type(s):

Private Plaintiff

Attorney Organizations:

ACLU Affiliates (any)

Public Interest Lawyer: Yes

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

City

City and County of Denver

Defendant Type(s):

Law-enforcement

Case Details

Causes of Action:

42 U.S.C. § 1983

Constitutional Clause(s):

Due Process

Equal Protection

Other Dockets:

District of Colorado 1:18-cv-02593

Available Documents:

Complaint (any)

Monetary Relief

Trial Court Docket

Outcome

Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed

Relief Granted:

Damages

Source of Relief:

Settlement

Form of Settlement:

Private Settlement Agreement

Voluntary Dismissal

Amount Defendant Pays: 30000

Issues

General/Misc.:

Fines/Fees/Bail/Bond

Recommended Citation

Case Summary of Howard v. City and County of Denver, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, http://www.dev.clearinghouse.net/case/16839/ (last updated 2/11/2019).