The aim of the change is to rectify a glaring constitutional issue — the vast majority of those arrested in Chicago don’t receive legal representation until their bail hearing in court, often after they’ve already made incriminating statements to detectives, according to research by a legal aid group.
Many key players in the legal system applauded Evans’ move, which some declared “ground-breaking.”
Indeed, on paper, the order holds the promise of a profound shift. For decades, indigent defendants had to wait until their first court appearance before an assistant public defender was appointed to represent them. Evans’ order allows that step to take place much earlier — as soon as arrestees are brought to police stations.
But the success of such an order may ultimately depend on the cooperation of Chicago police, who in the past, say legal aid officials, have been reluctant to grant suspects phone calls or give attorneys access to suspects while they’re being questioned.
A Chicago police spokesman said Tuesday the department has agreed to post signs with a phone number for “free legal services” in arrestee areas and outside interview rooms but did not comment on questions about granting phone calls to those in custody.
“Judge Evans doing the order is not going to make it happen,” said Cook County Public Defender Amy Campanelli. “The police have got to put the posters up; they’ve got to give clients the access to the phones. And if lawyers show up, they have to let them through the door,” she added.
Chicago has been troubled by wrongful convictions — with more than 100 convictions reversed since 1989 — and some experts said Tuesday the change could help prevent the innocent from being convicted. Illinois has long had laws giving suspects the right to make calls and meet with an attorney before being charged, the Cook County public defender said, but they were rarely enforced.
“I want to ensure that constitutional rights are protected from the earliest point of contact with the criminal justice system,” Evans said in a statement. “The concept of ‘justice’ demands that we take this step to strengthen an individual’s rights and the public’s confidence in the system.”
Evans’ order is a blanket appointment of the public defender to represent people in custody who ask for an attorney before their first court appearance.
Suspects taken into custody have had a right to a lawyer under the Sixth Amendment, but it was impossible for most arrestees to speak with an attorney before they were charged and taken to bond court — unless they had private counsel.
In fact, a public records request by the nonprofit First Defense Legal Aid showed that only 838 of the nearly 86,700 people arrested last year by Chicago police — less than 1 percent — were able to consult with an attorney at the police station.