Links of Interest

What We Read, July 25-39, 2011 Criminal Justice Court Reform: Prison Law Blog links to a working paper by a Fordham University Law Professor, which concludes that “growth in prison populations has been driven almost entirely by increases in felony filings per arrest”. Cook County Board Preside...

Diversion Works.

That's the undisputed message in the most comprehensive study of diversionary drug courts ever completed. The Urban Institute, the Center for Court Innovation, and RTI International, conducted the multi-volume study, “The Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation." Researchers evaluated 23 drug courts...

Links of Interest

What we read this week. Criminal Justice Court Reform: Governor Quinn has abandoned plans to merge the Juvenile Department of Corrections with the Department of Child and Family Services. Judicial Elections and Election Reform: The Brennan Center examines public funding of campaigns in light o...

Links of Interest

What We Read, July 4-8, 2011 Criminal Justice Court Reform: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle has been emphasizing her push to reform the  criminal justice system in Cook County. The Daily Herald reports that Chief Judge Evans believes reform can come from within the courts themselves....

A Call for Transparency: Illinois Judicial Vacancies Should Be Made Public

This piece originally appeared at the Huffington Post. When an Illinois judge quits or retires before the end of her term, Article VI, Section 12 of the Illinois Constitution allows the Illinois Supreme Court to select her replacement. This process happens behind closed doors –the vacancy is not an...