Latest News - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

ICYMI: Seeds of Justice Award Recordings Available Now

This year, 2022, marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Collaboration for Justice of Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers. To begin our 25th anniversary celebration, we hosted Seeds of Justice - our annual pro bono acknowledgement event - on Tuesday, Ju...

Dynamics of Drug Possession Charges in Illinois, from Investigatory Stops to Sentences

B A C K G R O U N D Illinois is one of 18 states that makes possession of drugs (except cannabis) a felony in all cases. This means that possession, even of very small amounts of drugs, can lead to serious criminal legal system involvement. Felony arrests lead to pretrial jail time, often bec...

All People Deserve Access to Their Rights – Especially Those as Foundational as the Presumption of Innocence

Cook County leads the nation in exonerations based on false confessions. Between 1972 and 1991, Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge tortured at least 119 people – most of whom were young Black men – in order to force false confessions. Cook County still lives in that legacy: Between January 1989 and...

More than 65 Community Groups Call on the City of Chicago to Focus on Root Causes of Violence Instead of Punishment

Every year, Chicago experiences rising temperatures coinciding with heightened gun violence. To combat this issue, Mayor Lightfoot announced plans for increasing the number of police on the street and stricter curfews. Instead of helping with violence, this will only increase the number of people be...

Two Years In: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Remote Court Proceedings

The need to preserve court access during the pandemic moved hearings online. Remote court hearings are expected to continue – even as the courts return to in-person proceedings. While the transition has raised some concerns related to due process and accessibility, there appear to be some benefits t...