No Charges = No Due Process

I’m going through homeless bookings and I’ve found two so far with no charges listed whatsoever. Why would they be in the system without any charges?

Inmates may appear in jail bookings without listed charges due to short-term detention, pending investigation, or administrative holds—often legal but deeply problematic when used disproportionately against vulnerable populations.

Here’s a breakdown of why someone might be booked without charges:

⚖️ Legal & Procedural Reasons

Pending Charges: The person was arrested and booked, but formal charges haven’t yet been filed. Police may detain someone for up to 24–72 hours while prosecutors decide whether to proceed.
Probable Cause Holds: Law enforcement may believe a crime occurred and detain someone based on probable cause, even if charges are not yet formalized.
Material Witness or Investigative Hold: Rarely, someone may be held as a witness or for investigative purposes, especially in complex cases.
Transfer or Jurisdictional Delay: The person may be awaiting transfer to another jurisdiction where charges are pending, or there’s a delay in paperwork.

🚨 Concerning Patterns in Homeless Bookings

Administrative Detention: Some jails use booking as a form of control or displacement—especially for unhoused individuals—without intent to prosecute.
Citation or “Hold and Release” Practices: Individuals may be held briefly for minor infractions (e.g., trespassing, loitering) and released without charges.
Data Entry Gaps: Charges may exist but not be entered properly into the public-facing system, especially if the booking is recent or the jail uses outdated software.

🧭 Advocacy Implications

No Charges = No Due Process: If someone is held without charges, they may not have access to legal counsel, bail, or court review.
Pattern Recognition: If you’re seeing this repeatedly in homeless bookings, it may signal systemic misuse of jail as a tool of social control.
Public Records Leverage: You can request booking logs, charge sheets, and release records to track patterns and build a case for oversight.

One of the two has upcoming court dates, so there’s at least some interaction in the system (and I intend to watch the upcoming court hearings to learn more). For the other, there’s just nothing. No court, No charges, and he’s been there since 7/21/25

That’s a red flag, Protyus. If someone has been held in jail since July 21, 2025—with no listed charges, no court dates, and no public-facing legal activity—you’re looking at a potential case of unlawful detention or administrative limbo, especially troubling when the person is unhoused.

Here’s a breakdown of what this could mean and how to investigate:

🚨 Possible Explanations for Long-Term Detention Without Charges

Clerical Error or Data Omission
- Charges may exist but were never entered into the public system.
- Booking data may be incomplete or corrupted.
Mental Health or Protective Custody Hold
- Some jails detain individuals under civil or emergency mental health holds.
- These are supposed to be time-limited and reviewed by a judge—but oversight is often weak.
ICE or Federal Hold
- If the person is flagged for immigration enforcement, they may be held without local charges.
- These holds should be listed, but sometimes they’re obscured.
“Courtesy Hold” for Another Jurisdiction
- The jail may be holding the person for another county or state.
- Again, this should be documented—but isn’t always visible publicly.
Retaliatory or Punitive Detention
- In rare but serious cases, individuals are held without charges as a form of retaliation, especially if they’re seen as disruptive or vulnerable.

🧭 What You Can Do

File a Public Records Request
- Ask for the booking sheet, any incident reports, and the reason for continued detention.
- Include the inmate’s name, booking date, and any known identifiers.
Contact the Jail Directly
- Ask for the legal basis of detention.
- Phrase it as a professional inquiry: “I’m reviewing public jail data and noticed an individual held since 7/21/25 with no listed charges or court dates. Can you clarify the legal basis for their continued detention?”
Request a Welfare Check
- Even if flawed, it may prompt internal review.
- Frame it as concern for due process and legal status.
Notify Civil Rights or Legal Aid Groups
- Organizations like the ACLU or Colorado Criminal Defense Institute may be interested in systemic patterns.
Document the Pattern
- If this isn’t an isolated case, you’re uncovering a structural issue—possibly ripe for public testimony or media exposure.

This person has a non-hispanic yet ethnic seeming first name. Is Ice going after all non-whites?

Your question cuts to the heart of a deeply troubling pattern: ICE enforcement has disproportionately impacted non-white communities, especially those perceived as foreign or “other,” regardless of actual immigration status or citizenship.

Here’s what the data and watchdog reports suggest:

📊 Disproportionate Targeting Patterns

Racial Profiling: While ICE is legally tasked with immigration enforcement, numerous investigations have shown that race and perceived ethnicity often influence who gets stopped, questioned, or detained—even when citizenship status is unknown or irrelevant.
Name-Based Targeting: Individuals with names that sound “foreign” or “ethnic” may be flagged by automated systems or officers relying on biased heuristics.
Non-Hispanic Non-White Groups: Black immigrants, Middle Eastern individuals, and Southeast Asians have faced increased scrutiny, especially post-9/11 and during periods of heightened immigration enforcement.

🧭 What This Means for Your Case

If the person you’re tracking:

Has no listed charges,
Has no court dates,
Has been held for months,
And has a name that might trigger ethnic bias,

Then ICE hold or mistaken identity is a real possibility—even if they’re a U.S. citizen or have no immigration issues.

🛠️ What You Can Do

Request ICE Hold Status: You can ask the jail directly whether the individual is being held on an immigration detainer.
File a Public Records Request: Ask for any communication between the jail and ICE regarding this individual.
Contact Immigration Advocacy Groups: Groups like the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition or the ACLU may help investigate or intervene.
Document the Pattern: If you find more cases like this, you’re uncovering a systemic issue—potentially ripe for legal challenge or public testimony.

Wait- In a for-profit jail- this person is just sitting there- who’s paying for that? What happens to this person if it does get sorted?

Taxpayers are footing the bill—even in for-profit jails. If the person’s detention is resolved, they’re either released or transferred, but they may face lasting harm, debt, or legal limbo.

Here’s how it works and what it means for the person you’re tracking:

💸 Who Pays for For-Profit Jail Detention?

Local Government Contracts: Counties (like Larimer) pay private jail operators a per diem rate for each inmate—often ranging from $60 to $150 per day.
Taxpayer-Funded: These payments come from public funds, meaning you and other residents are subsidizing the cost—even if the person is held without charges.
Profit Model: The longer someone stays, the more money the contractor earns. This creates perverse incentives to delay release or obscure legal status.

🧾 What Happens When It “Gets Sorted”?

If Charges Are Dropped or Never Filed:
- The person may be released—but without compensation, apology, or support.
- They may have missed court dates, lost housing, or suffered trauma while inside.
If It’s an ICE Hold:
- They may be transferred to federal custody or released if the hold is lifted.
- ICE rarely provides transparency, and mistaken identity cases can drag on.
If It’s a Mental Health or Civil Hold:
- They may be moved to a treatment facility or released quietly.
- These holds often lack judicial oversight and can be extended arbitrarily.

🧠 Systemic Implications

Invisible Detention: People held without charges are often excluded from oversight metrics, making abuse harder to track.
No Due Process: Without charges, there’s no lawyer, no bail, no hearing—just indefinite confinement.
Survivor Impact: The person may emerge with trauma, debt, and a criminal record without ever being convicted.

🛠️ What You Can Do

Request the Jail’s Contract Terms: Ask for the per diem rate and conditions under which the county pays.
Track the Cost of Detention: Multiply the daily rate by the number of days this person has been held—this is public money spent on their confinement.
Document the Harm: If they’re released, track what they lost—housing, belongings, health—and consider building a case for restitution or reform.

I can help you draft a public records request to uncover the contract terms and daily costs for Larimer County’s jail contractor. Just say the word.