In Today’s News and Commentary, a ruling against forced labor in Colorado prisons, businesses lack standing to challenge Connecticut’s captive audience ban, and labor unions join tenant unions in announcing a rent strike in Minnesota.

Last Friday, a Denver District Court Judge issued a 61-page ruling in a class action lawsuit against the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) and Governor Jared Polis, finding that they forced prisoners to work in violation of the state constitution. In 2018, Colorado voters chose to close the 13th Amendment loophole by voting in favor to amend Article II, Section 26 of the state constitution to read: “There shall never be in this state either slavery or involuntary servitude.” Despite this clear language, incarcerated individuals reported nothing had actually changed because the State continued to compel individuals to work under threats of punishment, particularly the threat and use of segregation and isolation for failure to work. In 2022, Towards Justice filed a class action lawsuit alleging CDOC’s approach to prison labor amounted to involuntary servitude or slavery. During the trial in October 2024, attorneys for the state argued that revocation of privileges and punishments for failing to work did not rise to the level of coercion legally required to constitute involuntary servitude. In a wholesale rejection of this argument, the judge granted declaratory and injunctive relief enjoining CDOC policies that constitute involuntary...

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