In The News

Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli talks about the repercussions for looters in Chicago.

Cook County Public Defender, Amy Campanelli speaks about the lawsuit against the City of Chicago for Denying Access to Counsel to Those in Police Custody.

Cook County Public Defender, Amy Campanelli discusses the new 'restorative justice' court aims to offer more productive alternative to jail.

Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli addresses budget issues with the Cook County Board on 7/22/2020.

A discussion about systemic injustice

Head of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office, Amy Campanelli, discusses holding CPD accountable and a lawsuit her office is filing against the City of Chicago.

The suit filed by the Cook County public defenders office and several activist groups accuses the Chicago Police Department of a “long record” of denying these rights to arrestees.

Lawyers from the Cook County public defender office led a Black Lives Matter march around the Leighton Criminal Courthouse and jail facility Monday afternoon.

The march was part of a nationwide public defenders protest coordinated by the San Diego office.

Assistant Public Defender Takenya Nixon said she and other Chicago lawyers and residents — the crowd had swelled to several hundred by its conclusion — were motivated to participate for two reasons.

“There are too many people who just take the words of the officers and do not listen to the accused,” public defender Ashley Shambley told marchers.

Former President Barack Obama urged American mayors to take action at the local level to heal relations between police departments and black communities in a virtual town hall Wednesday. Cook County public defender Amy Campanelli joined Good Day with some insight on what that should look like.

The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender has received numerous calls in recent weeks from individuals who were contacted by someone claiming to be an attorney from our office and soliciting money in exchange for providing legal representation to those individuals’ loved ones. Please be advised that this is a scam and any such calls should be reported to a local law enforcement agency. Under no circumstances would anyone from the Cook County Public Defender’s Office ask for payment of any kind for legal representation.

If you or someone that you know is arrested in Cook County, you are entitled to have an attorney from our office represent you at the police station for FREE. You can call us toll free at (844) 817 – 4448, to have an attorney come to a police station 24 hours a day, seven days a week.