Berck NASH, Joanna Nash, Rodney Saunders, Darlene Schmurr-Stewart, Paul Michael Stewart, and Janet Gould v. Jason MIKESELL, in his official capacity as Sheriff of Teller County, Colorado, 2021 COA 148

Plaintiffs (Teller County residents) sued Sheriff Jason Mikesell in his official capacity seeking to enjoin the county's 287(g) agreement with ICE (Jail Enforcement Officer model that authorizes detainers and administrative warrants).
The Teller County Sheriff’s Office executed a 287(g) JEO agreement on January 6, 2019; ICE trains local jail personnel to perform immigration-related functions while assigned to the jail.
The Teller County Facilities Corporation (the Jail Enterprise) operates the county jail as a government-owned enterprise; deputies are said to “change hats” and, when assigned to the jail, are paid by the Jail Enterprise, which labels revenues as fees.
Plaintiffs challenged the agreement under the Colorado Constitution and HB19-1124 (which prohibits detention based on civil immigration detainers) and invoked taxpayer standing even though none had been detained under the agreement.
The trial court dismissed for lack of taxpayer standing, relying on an affidavit that the Jail Enterprise receives no taxpayer dollars; the Sheriff argued the jail is funded by fees and not county tax dollars.
The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that Teller County’s payments from the general fund to the Jail Enterprise for inmate housing mean Plaintiffs’ tax dollars fund the jail’s operations and thus Plaintiffs have taxpayer standing; the case was remanded to reinstate the lawsuit.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether taxpayers have standing to challenge the county’s 287(g) agreement	Taxpayer standing exists because county general-fund dollars (Plaintiffs' taxes) pay the jail and thus fund the allegedly unconstitutional use of funds	No standing because the jail operates as a government-owned enterprise funded by fees; deputies performing 287(g) duties are paid by the enterprise, not the county general fund	Reversed dismissal — Plaintiffs have taxpayer standing; county payments to the enterprise count as use of tax dollars and corporate form does not defeat standing
Whether Plaintiffs were entitled to discovery and an evidentiary hearing on jurisdictional facts	Plaintiffs sought discovery to dispute the Sheriff’s factual showing about funding and employee status	Sheriff relied on affidavit and financial records and opposed discovery	Not decided on appeal — court found standing and therefore did not reach the discovery/evidentiary-hearing issue

Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corp., 513 U.S. 374 (government-created corporation performing public functions is subject to constitutional constraints)
Barber v. Ritter, 196 P.3d 238 (Colo. 2008) (standing requires injury in fact and legally protected interest)
Reeves-Toney v. Sch. Dist. No. 1, 442 P.3d 81 (Colo. 2019) (Colorado taxpayer standing and clear-nexus requirement)
Hickenlooper v. Freedom from Religion Found., Inc., 338 P.3d 1002 (Colo. 2014) (limits on taxpayer standing explained)
Brotman v. E. Lake Creek Ranch, L.L.P., 31 P.3d 886 (Colo. 2001) (taxpayer standing denial where tax dollars were not being used in alleged unlawful manner)
Colorado Ass'n of Pub. Employees v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Colo., 804 P.2d 138 (Colo. 1990) (government-created corporations acting for public purposes are effectively public entities)
TABOR Found. v. Colo. Dep't of Health, 487 P.3d 1277 (Colo. App. 2020) (taxpayers may enjoin unlawful expenditure of public funds)