Cook County Deprives Defendants of a Public Defense

Chicago, IL, May 1, 2013 -- In courtrooms across Cook County, a Chicago Appleseed investigation has confirmed, defendants are being denied a public defense solely because they have posted bond to get out of jail. The denials come without a constitutionally required hearing on the defendant’s finance...
May 1, 2013

Testimony: Justice Advocates Oppose Videoconferenced Criminal Proceedings

Last week, Chicago Appleseed, Chicago Council of Lawyers, and several other criminal justice advocates submitted testimony objecting to an Illinois Supreme Court Proposal 12-01 (P.R. 0196). Proposal 12-01 creates a rule permitting a criminal defendant to appear in many different proceedings via clo...
December 4, 2012

Cameras in the Courtrooms

On Tuesday, January 24, the Illinois Supreme Court announced (.pdf) approval of a pilot program to allow cameras in court rooms in Illinois. Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans is enthusiastic about the idea and plans to petition for inclusion in the program. Judge Evans said he has...
January 26, 2012