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...
August 28, 2014

Poor Defendants and Access to Justice

Submitted by Aswan Taylor, Chicago Appleseed Intern Last year, a Chicago Appleseed investigation found that Cook County courts were routinely denying defendants a public defense, or ordering reimbursement for public defenders’ services, simply because the defendant had posted bond. As noted in Ma...
June 3, 2014

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...
August 17, 2011