Injustice Watch (https://www.injusticewatch.org/author/maricohen/)
Mari Cohen (reporting fellow) graduated from the University of Chicago in 2017 with a degree in History and English. Throughout college, she worked as a writer and editor for the nonprofit newsmagazine South Side Weekly, serving as contributing editor, education editor, and director of writer development. She has also worked as the Public Newsroom coordinator at City Bureau and as a research intern at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Mari is passionate about using new 21st century models of nonprofit journalism to report on social injustice. Before joining Injustice Watch as a reporting fellow, she served as a summer intern.
Cook County’s new group of associate judges includes candidates whose backgrounds are Greek, Asian, Hispanic, Jewish, and more. But not one of the 16 judges already selected are African-American. The 17th seat, still to be filled, will go to one of two black men — leaving black women excluded.
The 16 new Cook County associate judges announced by the state court system on Monday include five who had lost primary elections at the polling place in March. But a vote by the county’s circuit judges has rewarded them with seats on the bench in any event.
The sponsor of an Illinois House of Representatives bill that would have drastically cut public access to police records—including in cases of officer misconduct—killed the bill Thursday after searing opposition from civil rights and open government advocates, including the ACLU and the state attorney general’s office. The bill was prompted by a request from the city of Chicago Heights.
State court officials plan to install equipment that will record eviction court hearings. But timing is not certain. In the meantime, tenants remain without record of what occurred, making appeals difficult.
An Illinois Appellate Court panel opinion this week condemned police deception in interrogations not only for the risk of wrongful convictions, but for the breach of community trust. “I have never seen such a statement before in a court case,” one expert said.
In overturning a murder conviction, an Illinois Appellate Court panel warns police that using deception to win convictions undermines community trust in the police. The opinion also faults prosecutor and trial judge for their roles in a wrongful conviction.
It was not business-as-usual in the Cook County judicial primaries last week. Candidates with blemishes on their record were disfavored by voters. Judges already serving by appointment, or candidates who came out of the prosecutors’ office, found those perceived advantages did not sway voters. And Latinos seemed to gain strength at the expense of the traditional dominance of Irish names.
After a defendant was convicted of charges she was part of a drug distribution ring, she cited widespread errors by her attorney, William Laws. The federal trial judge agreed that his poor performance had caused her to be unfairly sentenced. Years later, that case has come up again as Laws is a candidate for Cook County Circuit judge.
Cook County’s 10th judicial subcircuit, in parts of northwest Chicago and nearby suburbs, has a crowded field. But one of the candidates is making history as the first openly transgender judicial candidate in Illinois.
Attorneys for convicted murderer say that prosecutor Michael Gerber engaged in “egregious conduct” that led to wrongful conviction based on thin evidence in Wheeling murder case. Gerber, now serving as judge by appointment, is a candidate for a full term on the bench in March.