According to a recently released study, Cook County criminal courts may be tainted by systemic inequality within the Chicago Police Department.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel commissioned a task force to examine allegations of widespread unfair treatment inside the CPD, and the committee issued over 100 recommendations for change. These recommendations were based on some rather troubling statistics. Although Chicago’s population is roughly one-third white, one-third black, and one-third Hispanic, the subject was black in 46% of traffic stops and 72% of investigatory stops. Even if the police make no arrests, these encounters “leave an indelible mark” and have “a lasting, negative effect,” according to the report.
The task force also criticized police union contracts which “make it easy for officers to lie in official reports” and forbid awards to police whistleblowers.
Pretrial Procedure in Criminal Courts
Any irregularities at the law enforcement level often have a significant impact on a criminal case because a failure to follow proper procedures often violates rights that must be preserved with a pretrial motion. Aggressive representation at this early phase gives a defense attorney additional leverage during plea negotiations and helps set the stage for a more successful result at trial.
Although every case is different, and there are sometimes harsh penalties for filing frivolous or groundless motions, most felony cases include:
- Motion to Preserve Evidence: Important evidence is sometimes lost, misplaced, or mishandled when it moves from the police department to the prosecutor’s office, either accidentally or intentionally. If the judge grants a motion to preserve, the state will be unable to introduce any tainted evidence, or evidence related to it.
- Motion to Reduce Bond: Pretrial detention is essentially designed to protect witnesses and victims while preventing the defendant from fleeing the jurisdiction, and not for any other purpose.
- Motion to Quash and/or Suppress: If the initial stop, subsequent arrest, property search, or pretrial detention ran afoul of any rules created by the federal or state constitution, dismissal of the case may be an appropriate remedy.
Depending on the jurisdiction, other motions may be appropriate, such as a motion for discovery and a motion for plea conference with the court.
Trial Procedure
The presumption of innocence is more like an assumption of innocence, but regardless of how it is defined, the presumption means that the state has the burden of proof to establish the defendant’s guilt on each and every element of the offense.
DUI collision cases are a good illustration. Assume that officers respond to a crash scene, the at-fault driver is intoxicated according to a Breathalyzer test, and the driver is arrested. The case seems airtight. But, unless there is a civilian or police witness who can “wheel” the defendant, or provide compelling testimony that she was driving the car, the defendant will go free because the state cannot prove an essential element of the offense.
Partner with Diligent Attorneys
Some, but not all, procedural errors are fatal to a state’s criminal case. For prompt assistance from an aggressive criminal defense attorney in Schaumburg, contact Glasgow & Olsson. Convenient payment plans are available.