The 60th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright is coming up on March 18, a time to reflect on the right to counsel and the public defender system.

The core work of this office is in the courtroom, fulfilling the promise of the landmark Supreme Court decision that defendants require the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings.

But our advocacy often extends much further.

So many of our clients have no one else in their corner and the entities charged with supporting them aren't doing their job. The two stories below are about people in our office who asked themselves "if not me, then who?"

Part I

APDs Nancy Widuch and Kristine Underwood from the Legal Resources Division won the release of a post-conviction client from prison. But the battle had just begun!

The client was arrested in 2013 for burglary to a garage, found guilty in a jury trial and sentenced to 22 years in prison. Nancy and Kristine fought for months on a post-conviction petition over the egregiously long sentence.

In November, the client was resentenced to time served and was eligibible for immediate release. But he had no family or friends to live with and could not be released until the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) could verify a valid address for him to go to.

Field Services at IDOC referred the client to the Parole Reentry Group (PRG) but they were no help, and the client's release was complicated by the fact that he was using a wheelchair. In late November, Nancy and Kristine submitted a request for a social worker and Mental Health Clinician Peter McInerny was assigned. Since the use of a wheelchair limited his housing options, the client worked to increase his mobility and received medical clearance to walk with a cane. This moved him to the top of the Field Services list for reentry.

Our office got the Prison Review Board (PRB) involved and the board provided a list of half-way houses including Saint Leonard's Ministries in Chicago, which agreed to review the client for placement. After a month of emails and calls PRG approved the placement and Nancy and Kristine donated clothes and toiletries to get the client settled.

On Valentine’s Day they picked up the client at Union Station and took him to the residence, where he was welcomed by numerous people. He called the next day to say he was doing great, and he had slept in the most comfortable bed he had slept in since 2013 and the food was delicious. 

Part II

This story involves a case and an appeal that did not have the outcomes we would have wished for. But that did not stop people in our Family Defense Division, Legal Resources Division and others in our office from continuing to advocate for a client who has an intellectual disability and who survived sex trafficking.

The client became a ward of the court herself when the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) took her baby shortly after delivery. Her parental rights were terminated despite valiant work by APDs Lauren Cannizzaro, Kate Strickler, Steve Pick, Jeremy Lemmons and others. The team pushed DCFS to offer the client reunification services in her native language that would accommodate her disability, even filing an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complaint.

APDs Nicole Pijon and Marsha Watt continued the good fight, arguing issue preclusion and ADA violations in their post-trial and appellate briefs. Ultimately, the appeal was lost in a disappointing First District opinion that did not respect the client's sincere attempts to do her best in a system stacked against her.

After the trial, the client's passport and other documents were stolen while she was visiting family in Mexico, stranding her there. Caseworker Nancy Martinez, who had maintained a relationship with the client, worked with Immigration Division Chief Hena Mansori to help the client sort out her situation and come back home before losing her permanent resident status. Nancy did this while she herself was on a family vacation!

Free event with IACDL

The Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (IACDL) is commemorating the 60th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright by celebrating and thanking the lawyers who serve our communities through public defense work.

The event is completely free to any current or former indigent defense attorney, investigator or social worker in Illinois. Food and beverages are included.

The event is on Thursday, March 16 from 4-8 p.m. at Mi Tierra, 2528 S. Kedzie Ave., Chicago. You must register to attend. 

Bridgeview victories

The Bridgeview office recently won four not guilty findings at bench trials.

• APD Anthony Ruffin was before Judge Thomas Hennelly for a client accused of home invasion/burglary. Anthony argued that the State didn't prove the first element of both charges: forced entry. The judge agreed. 
• APD David Zumba was before Judge John Mahoney for a client charged with DUI. David was able to limit the video the judge saw, based on objections to hearsay - the client complained of feeling pain in his head in the video. So the judge saw only the field sobriety test portion of the video. After watching the video the State decided not to have their officer testify and David moved for a directed finding.
• APDs Allie Khan and Shazaade Cannon were before Judge Hennelley representing a client on an armed habitual criminal charge. Officers were chasing a person they said matched the description of an armed man and one officer claimed to see him throw a black object. The officers located a gun in a bush and arrested the client. None of the officers ever saw the weapon in his hand.  
•  APD Nader Zughayer was before Judge Kathaleen Lanahan representing a client charged with aggravated speeding. During cross-examination Nader elicited that the arresting officer did not calibrate the radar device prior to usage.

Also in Bridgeview, APD Sarah Fransene got a first-degree murder case dismissed after opening statements and two days of testimony by State witnesses. The case was before Judge Terry Gallagher. The client was accused of beating to death a young child who was his girlfriend's ward and the case had been reversed and remanded by the appellate court due to multiple errors. The girlfriend was given complete immunity to testify against the client and part of the remand dealt with whether the State could treat her as an adverse witness.

Not guilty in a jury trial for murder, and other Multiple Defendant Division victories

APDs Wendy Steiner and Anthony Plaid won a not guilty verdict in a jury trial on a first-degree murder charge before Judge Alfredo Maldonado. The case stemmed from a fight at an unofficial school reunion. The person who died by shooting also had a gun but was not tested for gunshot residue, which was a deciding factor for the jury.

Wendy did a direct of the client's children's mother, who was genuine and emotional, and Anthony was masterful in his cross-examination of one of the eyewitnesses and with direct of the client. Investigators Stephanie Turner and Langdon Mattox assisted in interviewing witnesses, including Langdon going to Michigan numerous times to find a Lynch witness. The jury deliberated more than 7 hours and received instructions on second-degree murder.

APD Leslie Rogoff got a case dismissed on double jeopardy grounds. The client was charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle (PSMV) and burglary. In speaking with the client's Lake County assistant public defender about a case the client had pending there, Leslie learned that the client was on probation for a prior PSMV with the same facts as the new case. Leslie alerted the prosecutor who agreed and dismissed the Cook County case.

APDs Elizabeth Kucaba and Kaitin Powell got a first-degree murder charge reduced to conspiracy to commit murder with a sentence of 12 years at 50 percent. 

The client got into a physical altercation with a person at a liquor store, and his co-defendant (who is involved in a federal case) shot the person. It was all on video and the State had a number of witnesses including a confidential informant.

Stephanie, the investigator, interviewed all the witnesses and went out with Liz to try and find the informant. Kaitin litigated a motion to produce the unredacted federal records and the identity of the confidential informant after Liz won the motion to produce all confidential informant information and supporting documents. Liz was running a demand for trial to push the State to do something before the federal case went to trial. The State's Attorney originally wanted the client to proffer to the Feds for a reducer, but the demand pushed the State into making the conspiracy offer in exchange for the plea alone.

Valentine's Day not guilty

APDs Anne French and Courtney Smallwood won a not guilty finding for their client charged with Class 4 aggravated UUW, in a Valentine's Day bench trial before Judge Steven Watkins. Despite the State calling three witnesses, entering numerous body-worn camera videos, and one stipulation, the judge agreed there was no evidence to support that the client knew there was a gun under the seat of the car he was seated in. Anne argued that our client was the only individual in the situation who complied with officers' commands and did not act in a way to suggest guilt. The car did not belong to him, and the two passengers in the car tried to flee from police during a traffic stop.

Treatment plan leads to first time offender probation

Mental Health Clinician Peter McInerney, working with APD Leslie Rogoff, obtained a fantastic outcome of first time offender gun probation for a client charged with a Class X possession of a machine gun with laser sights. The client was facing a prison sentence and the risk of deportation to Ethiopia.

Peter reviewed extensive documents, interviewed the client and his father numerous times, and developed a highly detailed, individualized treatment plan and psychosocial report. The State agreed to conference the case with Judge Kenneth Wadas and the judge agreed to probation with mental health treatment as a condition. The client pleaded guilty to Class 4 aggravated UUW but the charges will be dismissed if he successfully completes probation.

Cook County Department of Corrections searches

It has come to our attention that the Cook County Sheriff's Office is searching documents that our attorneys have with them when they visit clients in the jail. 

These searches are being videotaped using a body-worn camera. 

Please cooperate with the Sheriff but insist that any search or recording takes place in your presence. If the Sheriff's officer refuses to allow you to be present you should leave the jail, even if it means not visiting your client, mark the name of the deputy and report the incident immediately to your supervisor or chief.

Please see an email on March 2 from First Assistant Rodney Carr for a complete explanation of these searches and our policy.

Motion Monday moves

Motion Monday will now be held the fourth Monday of the month (in honor of the 4th Amendment 😉) at 1 p.m.

The next Motion Monday is March 27 at 1 p.m.  All public defenders are welcome - let's learn from each other! Join the call to discuss a pending or possible motion, to drop some knowledge or just to listen in.

The Zoom session ID is 2218304300. The password is covidzoom.

Student loan repayment program deadline extended to March 20

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is currently accepting 2023 John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program applications. The JRJ program provides awards for the payment of eligible educational loans for state and federal public defenders and state prosecutors who agree to remain employed as public defenders and prosecutors for at least three years. The annual awards to qualified defenders and prosecutors may be up to $4,000 (dependent on funding) to repay their student loan debt. Please visit the JRJ website for more details. 

Due to a low number of applicants, ISAC has extended the application deadline until March 20. The commission is looking for several more eligible applicants so that it can distribute the full amount of its grant.

Traffic stops report and webinar

Black and Latinx Chicagoans and Chicago communities have in recent years experienced an enormous and unprecedented escalation in police traffic stops. These stops harm communities, often involve unreasonable searches and directly impact our practice in many ways including an increase in gun possession cases.

Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI) and Free2Move Coalition have released a report, A New Vehicle for Stop and Frisk, on the scope, impact and inequities of traffic stops in Chicago. Public Defender Sharone R. Mitchell, Jr., spoke on a panel about the report launch.

You can find the report and other resources here.

A webinar on Alternatives to the Current Traffic Safety System will take place on Tuesday, March 21 from noon to 1:30 p.m. To find out more and to register, click here.

National Black Law Students Association convention

Our office sponsored the 55th Convention of the Midwest Region of the National Black Law Students Association (MWBLSA) in Chicago Feb. 23-26.

Director of Professional Development Theodore Thomas judged two rounds of the Constance Baker Motley Mock Trial Competition and Bridgeview Chief Angela Kilpatrick and Administrative Analyst Maria Muñoz staffed a table, interacting with dozens of law students.

Celebrating SEED graduates

About 20 graduates of SEED attended the program's first semi-annual celebration on March 4 at The Hatchery Chicago.

Problem-Solving Courts Supervisor Silvana Santilli (on the left in the photo) and APD Lauren Brauer (on the right in the photo) attended and feted the graduates. More than 161 people have participated in SEED and 61 have graduated since it began in January 2021.

The Supporting Education and Employment Development (SEED) program was created for individuals charged with felony drug distribution. The program offers comprehensive services to help these individuals seek employment at a living wage and ultimately prevent actions that harm communities.

Two juvenile bills advance

Yesterday, two of our office’s bills advanced out of committee and to the House floor. HB2889 (Protecting children’s right to release - fact sheet) and HB2890 (Ending mandatory DNA collection from children - fact sheet) were developed by the office’s Juvenile Justice policy volunteers. Many other bills of interest to our practice are also alive and well, but only time will tell if they move toward becoming law. If you have questions, feedback, or would like to get involved as a volunteer with the Policy Team, email PDPolicy@CookCountyIL.gov!

Grant Analyst

We currently have an opening for a Grant Analyst. Applications are due by March 20.

Help us attract great talent by sharing the job posting on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Mitigation Specialist internal opportunities

We currently have internal promotion postings up for Mitigation Specialist opportunities at Bridgeview, 26th St., Legal Resources Division and Juvenile Division. Members of Local 3696 should have received information about this opportunity via email.

The deadline to submit an application and bid is March 15. Please contact Human Resource Specialist Asia Cobb if you have questions.