Resource-strapped public defenders can usually only provide direct client services. Meanwhile, police and prosecutors get to lobby for legislative changes. In Illinois, we are upending that status quo.
By Sharone R. Mitchell, Jr. | Published in Inquest
The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender has opposed the State’s Attorney’s felony bypass policy since its inception, and we oppose any expansion.
This policy abandons prosecutors’ duty to review felony charges and simply hands that responsibility to police, who have an obvious incentive to bring charges, whether or not there is evidence to support them.
(SPRINGFIELD, IL) – A coalition of legal services, immigrant justice and civil rights, and domestic violence organizations is celebrating the early morning passage of statewide legislation to ban civil arrests in and around Illinois state courthouses. HB1312 extends protections recently enacted by court order in Cook County to all Illinois residents and enables civil penalties for violations of the law.
"The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender applauds Chief Judge Tim Evans for his general administrative order banning civil arrests in and around courthouses in Cook County.
The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender and 13 criminal and civil legal aid and social services organizations, including nine specializing in serving survivors of domestic and sexual violence, formally petitioned the court today.
CHICAGO — The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender proudly announces the opening of its second community-based office, the Freedom Defense Center of Austin (FDCA), located inside the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation on Chicago’s West Side.
The Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender congratulates Judge Charles Beach II on his election as the new Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
Earlier this week, the number of people in Cook County Jail exceeded 6,000 for the first time in more than three years.
CHICAGO – The Law Office of the County Public Defender is celebrating the passage of five new bills by the Illinois General Assembly during the 2025 spring session.
New community office will bring holistic legal defense and support services to Chicago’s South Side.
CHICAGO—Today, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle joined Cook County Public Defender Sharone R. Mitchell, Jr., community members, elected officials, and partner organizations to officially open the Freedom Defense Center of Roseland (FDCR)—a first-of-its-kind community-based law office dedicated to providing holistic legal defense and wraparound services for residents of the South Side.
