Latest News - Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts

Preventing Wrongful Convictions: Ensuring the Right to Communicate in Cook County

From media depictions of the criminal legal system, most people seem to understand that when you get arrested, you are allowed a phone call and that phone call can get you a lawyer that will advocate for you during police interrogations. Unfortunately, this is not always the reality – especially in...

Illinois Could Help Kids in State Custody by Providing “Expressed Interest” Representation

Each year in the state of Illinois, children in youth jails and prisons are released by judges and yet continue to remain incarcerated after adjudication because the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) cannot find suitable places for them to be released to. In 2015, the state of Il...

Testimony to the IL Supreme Court Statutory Court Fees Task Force: Fines and Fees Perpetuate Inequality as Opposed to Serving Justice (August 30)

On August 30, 2022, Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts' social work intern, CJ Beck, provided testimony at a public hearing held by Illinois Statutory Court Fees Task Force. The public hearing was called so community members could provide testimony on the Task Force's draft report on the "Impl...

Lawsuit: Chicago Police Department Relies on Faulty ‘Evidence’ from ShotSpotter to Make Arrests

On July 21, 2022, attorneys from Northwestern University’s MacArthur Justice Center filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Michael Williams, Daniel Ortiz, and Lucy Parsons Labs against the City of Chicago, Chicago Police Department (CPD) Superintendent David Brown, and several CPD officers. The lawsui...

Northwestern Report Highlights the Need for Culture Change in Cook County’s Court System

The criminal legal system is divided into two main groups: insiders and outsiders. Court “insiders” include judges, clerks, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and other court staff; essentially, the individuals who are familiar with the legal system and are not at court for personal affairs. Court “out...

1 … 17 18 19 20 21 … 130