Latest News
Pretextual Vehicle Stops—A Pipeline to Police Testilying
Pretextual traffic stops occur when an officer pulls over a driver for an alleged minor infraction – an expired registration tag, say, or a burned out taillight. But then the officer uses the stop as an excuse to fish for evidence of a crime unrelated to the original reason for the stop. As alleged in a proposed class action lawsuit filed in June by five Black and Latine motorists, Wilkins v. City of Chicago: “Traffic stops on the city’s predominantly Black and Latino South and West [S]ides…are typically for minor violations—or for no reason at all—and are a tool for officers to search and detain minority residents.”
NEW REPORT | One Size Doesn’t Fit All: A Review of Post-Plea Problem-Solving Courts in Cook County
This report focuses on Cook County’s “post-plea” diversion courts. Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers are excited to release our new report, One Size Doesn’t Fit All: A Review of Post-Plea Problem-Solving Courts in Cook County. In it, we offer a holistic picture of the scope of specialty (or “problem-solving”) courts, which have become an increasingly popular tool for lowering the number of people in prisons in the United States.
NEW REPORT | I Don’t Know Why I’m Here: Observations from Cook County’s Civil Asset Forfeiture Courtrooms
From March to August of 2022, our volunteer court-watchers observed 230 civil asset forfeiture calls in the County Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Court-watchers noted a number of stakeholder concerns around innocent owners, support for self-represented property owners, procedural efficiency, and more, and brought up concerns of their own.
Mayoral Candidates Answer Questions from Chicago’s Civil Rights Community
Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, and Loevy & Loevy wanted to know what Chicago’s mayoral candidates thought about civil rights issues, so we asked them. The questionnaire was sent to the nine candidates running for Chicago Mayor in the 2023 election; all candidates answered civil rights questions except for Mayor Lightfoot, who declined to participate.
We’ve Joined 400+ Organizations in Urging the Illinois Supreme Court to Affirm the Constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act
Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers have joined the 37 members of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice and 389 other national, state, and local organizations in submitting an amicus brief to the Illinois Supreme Court in the case of Rowe vs. Raoul, which considers the constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act. The brief, filed by the ACLU of Illinois and the law firm of Hughes, Socol, Piers, Resnick & Dym Ltd., argues forcefully that the Illinois Supreme Court should uphold the constitutionality of the Pretrial Fairness Act and allow the end of money bond to proceed in Illinois. We are proud to support the brief.
NEW REPORT: Fear and Silence – How Culture, Policy, and the ”Win At All Costs” Mentality Allows Police Testilying to Thrive
In early 2022, we began researching the issue of false reporting and police perjury — sometimes known as ”testilying” — in Circuit Court of Cook County. Our final report, Fear and Silence: How Culture, Policy, and the ”Win At All Costs” Mentality Allows Police Testilying to Thrive, has now been published. The discussion of topics in this report covers issues in Cook County and throughout the state of Illinois, but primarily focuses on policing in Chicago.
Collaboration for Justice and the Court Transparency Coalition
Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and the Chicago Council of Lawyers—the Collaboration for Justice—are pleased to be part of the Court Transparency Coalition, led by the Better Government Association.
The Collaboration for Justice Joins the Free to Drive Coalition as Amici in Mendoza et al. v Stickler
The Civil Rights Corps and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice have filed a brief on behalf of Free to Drive Coalition members in support of the plaintiffs in Mendoza et al. v Stickler. Chicago Appleseed and [...]
JOIN US! October 25: Collaboration for Justice Annual Luncheon
On Tuesday, October 25, join the Collaboration for Justice of Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts & Chicago Council of Lawyers for our annual meeting. This year, we are especially excited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our Collaboration for Justice with Chicago Appleseed.
Statement: After Hours Access to the Domestic Violence Court
The Domestic Violence Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County launched after-hours access, via remote proceedings, for Civil Emergency Orders of Protection this week. Continued meaningful engagement with community concerns, alongside appropriate data collection and self-assessment, will be necessary to build on the Division's early innovation to ensure it fulfills goals of safety and equity.