Courts and Public Accountability
“Judge Sullivan, Take Note”, an editorial in the Chicago Tribune Monday, June 9th, reminds us that the courtrooms do not belong to the judges, they belong to the people. The editorial references two recent steps by courts administrators to make Illinois’ courts more open and transparent: the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision to allow cameras in courtrooms and Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ administrative order specifically stating that note-taking is permitted in courtrooms.
“Justice flourishes when interested citizens may report, discuss or even condemn observed courtroom proceedings” John Marshall Law Professor Samuel V. Jones wrote in a May 19, 2014 editorial about his experiences being removed from a Cook County bond courtroom for taking notes on the proceedings. At Chicago Appleseed, we agree that openness and transparency in the courts is necessary to foster confidence in the judiciary and to promote accountability for judicial behavior.
In 2014, Chicago Appleseed and the Chicago Council of Lawyers will be revisiting the recommendations of the Solovy Commission, which in the wake of the federal Operation Greylord investigation into corruption in Cook County courts in the 1980’s issued195 recommendations aimed at improving the efficiency and general performance of the Circuit Court through structural and administrative reform. Operating under the belief that “inefficient procedures and other managerial problems often facilitate unethical and corrupt practices,” the Commission focused on the major underlying problems that led to the crimes and misconduct revealed in the Greylord trials in an effort to prevent it from recurring.
Systemic reform is a partnership between the public and the courts and we applaud the Supreme Court and Chief Judge Evans for recognizing that the public needs access to the courts, even when they are not directly involved in the cases before the court. We hope Professor Jones’ experiences are an aberration.