Alecia Richards, former Reporting Fellow at Injustice Watch

Illinois appeals court ponders: Can Cook County bar detention of pre-teens?

The Cook County Board of Commissioners passed an ordinance last September barring the detention of children under 13. But a Cook County judge ruled that ordinance improperly restricted judicial discretion. On Wednesday, an Illinois Appeals Court panel took up the issue.

by Alecia Richards September 25, 2019December 5, 2023

Appeals and Wrongful Convictions

Nearly eight years in prison, even though someone else said they did it

Ieliot Jackson spent seven years in prison after being convicted of selling less than one gram of heroin. Armed with an affidavit of a man who says he was the one who sold the drugs to an undercover police officer in June 2009, Jackson hopes it will help him obtain a certificate of innocence.

by Alecia Richards September 24, 2019December 5, 2023

Prosecutors

U.S. Supreme Court urged to let stand rule limiting prosecutors’ duty to turn over evidence

At stake is whether the constitutional duty to turn over exculpatory evidence extends to plea bargaining. Issue arose in Texas case where prosecutors took guilty plea from defendant without disclosing video cameras in the jail captured a jailhouse scuffle on camera — contradicting the police account that the defendant initiated the scuffle.

by Alecia Richards May 1, 2019December 5, 2023

Police

Community groups protest delayed Cook County vote to restrict gang database

For years Cook County police agencies have kept a “gang database,” but little has been known about who gets included and why; in several cases, residents were included without any evidence to support the label.. Community groups are now demanding that the police halt the practice and make public who and why names were included.

by Alecia Richards January 25, 2019December 5, 2023

Vermont high court permits lawsuit against cop accused of racial profiling

The Vermont Supreme Court ruling says a driver who claims racial profiling may bring suit against the officer, and casts doubt on the scent of marijuana as a valid basis for a search. Defense lawyers and civil rights groups praise the decision as a step to ending racial profiling.

by Alecia Richards and Abigail Blachman January 9, 2019December 5, 2023

Judicial Conduct

Cook County judge acquitted of gun charge got break others have not

An Injustice Watch investigation identified 14 cases of defendants of color convicted on gun charges based on testimony or video, though no gun was found. The convictions stand in contrast to what happened when Cook County associate Judge Joseph Claps was acquitted after dropping what deputies called a gun on the floor of the courthouse lobby.

by Alecia Richards December 14, 2018February 6, 2024

2018 Retention

Cook County judges’ committee funding Democratic effort to oust Coghlan

The committee that provides funding for Cook County circuit judges’ retention campaigns is turning much of its money over to the Cook County Democratic party, even though the party is mounting a campaign to defeat one retention judge, Matthew Coghlan.

by Alecia Richards and Elena Sucharetza October 12, 2018December 5, 2023

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