Overview
- Denver District Court Judge Sarah Wallace issued a declaratory judgment that the Department of Corrections, its director, and Gov. Jared Polis violated Article II, Section 26 of the state constitution.
- The order directs CDOC to stop threatening or using segregation and isolation for refusing work and to end “double charging” disciplinary write-ups tied to work refusals.
- The court found incarcerated people were compelled to work under credible threats of severe sanctions, including solitary confinement, based on testimony from prisoners and prison officials.
- Harold Mortis filed the class-action suit on behalf of thousands in state prisons and testified he faced orders to work beyond shifts and threats of being sent to “the hole” if he refused.
- Defendants have 28 days to appeal, and state officials offered limited comment as filings note prisons rely on incarcerated workers for food, laundry, custodial services and Colorado Correctional Industries programs.