California Votes to Downgrade Drug Crimes: Is Illinois Next?

On November 4, 2014, voters in California changed yesterday’s felony drug possession into today’s misdemeanor.  Voters passed a significant ballot measure, Proposition 47, a criminal reform initiative to dramatically reduce the punishment for a variety of crimes. The passage of Proposition 47 made C...

Letter to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

If you are a subscriber to the Daily Law Bulletin, you have probably seen our letter in the Lawyer's Forum concerning the Cook County Bond Court. We have reprinted it below for nonsubscribers. A wishlist for forthcoming bond court plan By Ali Abid and Malcolm Rich Ali Abid is a staff attorney and M...

The Coming Fees Crisis: Poverty Capitalism in the Courts

  This past week, two important pieces have appeared on NPR and the New York Times bringing attention to the increased practice of levying exploitive fines and fees on indigent people passing through the criminal and civil justice system. The first piece from NPR, based on a report of a S...