Evaluating Judges

87 percent of all state court judges face election to gain or retain their seats, according to the National Center for State Courts, with 39 states electing at least some of their judges. State courts in the United States are unique in the world—neither our own federal system, nor any other nation,...
May 25, 2011

Links of Interest for the Week — May 20, 2011

Immigration Court Reform: Human Rights Watch presented testimony to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary about reducing the immigration court backlog through decreasing transfers and providing counsel. Criminal Justice Reform: Chicago Appleseed does not work in the area of prison reform but sev...
May 20, 2011

Links of Interest — May 13, 2011

Court Reform/Judicial Accountability Chicago Appleseed is working on a proposal to make information about campaign contributions to judicial candidates more easily-accessible to attorneys and litigants who appear before those judges. It is with interest we noticed that Facebook has asked the Feder...
May 13, 2011

Diversion Court a Must for Justice and Economy

This article originally appeared at the Huffington Post. Imagine a program that saves Cook County at least $20 million per year while reducing crime, incarceration, and unemployment. This is no fantasy -- it's called diversion court, and Cook County can and should implement it right away. Last fal...
May 13, 2011

Chicago Transition 2011 includes Parent and Community Engagement Plan

This week, the Chicago Tribune's "Clout Street" blog reported, Mayor-elect Rahm Emmanuel released a "Chicago 2011 Transition Plan" listing his administration's objectives and strategies for achieving them. The 72-page document, available here, outlines 55 initiatives falling within four categories:...
May 11, 2011