The Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County has published the results of monitoring of the Model Bond Court Initiative, measuring 7 key performance figures. Among the information reported is the jail population over the period from October 2017- March 2018, the amount of bond set as the result of the new policies, and the court attendance rate for those achieving pretrial release.
Some highlights of the report show:
Public defenders from across the country gathered in Denver last week to talk about best practices for diverting people suffering from mental health issues away from the criminal justice system at a conference hosted by the Equitas Project.
Amy Campanelli participated in the project. Her comments are summarized below:
On February 24, 2018, Rich Central High School Mock Trial Team, coached by Cook County Public Defender Attorney Supervisor Connie Jordan, took 1st place in the Cook County 6th District Circuit Court High School Mock Trial competition.
The Cook County Public Defender's Office received the Clara Shortridge Foltz Award from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and the American Bar Association. The award, bestowed every other year, recognizes a public defender program or defense delivery system for outstanding achievement in the provision of defense services to the poor.
Crystal Brown was awarded the Bruce Robert Jacobs Award by the Illinois Public Defender Association at its October 2017 meeting.
On October 4, 2017, MacArthur Foundation President Julia Stasch announced a grant of $1.85 Million dollars to the Cook County Criminal Justice System to help promote the goal of further reducing the population of the Cook County Jail.
The argument of the Public Defender is that her clients deserve the same level of confidence that their interests will be served by the assistant public defender that is appointed to represent them as do the clients of any private attorney.
