Latest News - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

More incarceration does not equal less crime.

The ACLU posted a fascinating infographic this week. The above graphic compares the change incarceration rates and the change in crime rates from 1999 to 2009. Illinois' prison population has skyrocketed since 1970, but has not grown considerably in the past decade, as illustrated by this chart pr...

Judicial Independence, Impartiality and the Ethics of Recusal

National Public Radio ran a long piece on judicial ethics and recusal on Morning Edition this morning. The piece discussed instances in the past few years where Justices’ spouses, personal lives, or private speaking engagements caused criticism, particularly where Justices did not recuse themselves...

Recusal Standards for Judges

Finding ways to ensure the competence and integrity of the judicial system is a research and advocacy priority at Chicago Appleseed. We consider ways to advocate for improvement through our court-watching projects, the research and support we give to the Judicial Performance Commission, and in our r...

Links of Interest

What We Read, August 1-5, 2011 Criminal Justice Court Reform: Drug court: Why spending more will cost us less: Commentary in the San Jose Mercury News. In response to disproportionate numbers of nonwhite males unemployed and/or incarcerated, New York City unveiled a strategy involving, among o...

Links of Interest

What We Read, July 25-39, 2011 Criminal Justice Court Reform: Prison Law Blog links to a working paper by a Fordham University Law Professor, which concludes that “growth in prison populations has been driven almost entirely by increases in felony filings per arrest”. Cook County Board Preside...