Two men incarcerated in Cook County, Illinois, filed this class action lawsuit on October 14, 2016, in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Plaintiffs were eligible for release from jail but were detained because they could not afford the required bail. They brought their claims against a group of judges in the Circuit Court of Cook County who had routinely applied Illinois's bail statute to set monetary bail in amounts higher than individuals were able to pay. They also included the Sheriff of Cook County as a defendant. Plaintiffs alleged that the judicial defendants engaged in this practice without inquiring into arrestees' ability to pay and provided no alternative for those who were indigent. As a result, thousands of people awaiting trial were held in Cook County jails simply because they were poor. Consequently, many lost their jobs, homes, custody of their children, and suffered other adverse consequences, including a higher likelihood of conviction. Plaintiffs also alleged that a disproportionate number of detained individuals were African American.

Represented by the MacArthur Justice Center, the Civil Rights Corps, and private counsel, plaintiffs brought claims under 42 U.S.C. §1983, alleging violations of the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Illinois Constitution (Article One, Section Two), the Excessive Bail Clause of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Bailable by Sufficient Sureties Clause of the Illinois Constitution (Article One, Section 9), and the Illinois Civil Rights Act of 2003. Plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief to enjoin defendants from unlawfully incarcerating those detained only because of inability to pay bail.

Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint on March 17, 2017. On April 14, defendants filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the plaintiffs' Amended Complaint was moot because a General Order issued by the Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge adequately addressed their complaint. Based on plaintiffs' response to the motion to dismiss, it appears the General Order was issued in response to plaintiffs' Complaint and directed all Circuit Judges to follow certain procedures with respect to setting bail. It was set to go into effect in September of 2017 for felony cases and January of 2018 for all other cases. In their response motion to defendants' motion to dismiss, plaintiffs argued that the General Order did not have the force of law necessary to adequately address plaintiffs' claims. As of January 15, 2018, it appears that defendants' motion to dismiss is still pending.

Lauren Latterell Powell - 01/11/2018


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