Landmark Victory
LSW recently won a landmark verdict in a Fourth Amendment civil rights case they have been litigating for several years. At trial, Robyn Levin, Brad Levin, and Gideon Irving represented two people who had been wrongfully detained at Denver CARES (a government-run detox facility) for five and eleven hours each. The detox center holds more than 30,000 people in Denver every year, many of whom have spoken out about being held against their will for hours and, eventually, being financially charged for their own detentions. Few lawyers would take on their claims. Nonetheless, LSW’s lawyers felt confident that a jury would do the right thing and speak out against the systematic Fourth Amendment violations happening in this government facility on a daily basis.
Ultimately, that proved to be true – a federal jury of nine unanimously found that Denver CARES violated both clients constitutional rights, and that it did so because of its unconstitutional practices. Even still, getting a jury to award money for non-economic injuries is notoriously difficult, but counsel persuaded the jury to award their clients a collective $660,000 for their loss of liberty and individual dignity, which is more than $40,000 for every hour they were wrongfully held. This incredible result is a testament to the years of work that went into unearthing the widespread unconstitutional practices at the facility. The entire team at LSW is thrilled by the result and feels very optimistic that this verdict will push Denver CARES – and facilities like it – to make changes that will improve the lives of tens of thousands of people in the Denver community every year.
Congratulations to the LSW Team!
