{"id":75649,"date":"2019-02-01T15:47:09","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T21:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=75649"},"modified":"2019-02-01T15:47:09","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T21:47:09","slug":"misdemeanor-court-tackles-fast-paced-flow-of-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/misdemeanor-court-tackles-fast-paced-flow-of-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"Misdemeanor court tackles fast-paced flow of cases"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Chris Schulz
\n<\/strong>Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Robert Kuzas considered 88 misdemeanor cases over the course of two hours at a recent 9 a.m. hearing. That is considered a moderately slow session in Branch 43, as the county’s misdemeanor court at 3150 W. Flournoy St. is known. Two more sessions filled that day with 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. court calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cEfficiency is the priority in most courtrooms,\u201d said Joy Tull, one of the public defenders working at Branch 43.<\/p>\n

To get through all those cases in the time allotted, the courtroom runs like a well-oiled machine. Assistant state\u2019s attorneys and prosecutors stand shoulder to shoulder in front of the judge\u2019s bench and consider case after case.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely efficiency,\u201d said Assistant State\u2019s Attorney Steven Haamid, echoing Tull. \u201cIf everybody can say \u2018Ok\u2019 to a specific offer, why would you still put a trial on knowing that was what the judge was going to give. So now you just made a trial for no reason.\u201d he said.\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to trial out. But my public defender advised me that they\u2019re offering 30 community service hours,\u201d said Timothy Cash, 22. Cash was offered a deferred prosecution, meaning his case would be dismissed after his voluntary completion of community service. Including arrest and detention, this case had already taken up four days for Cash. \u201cI just went with the quicker process.\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In Branch 43, many cases are dismissed within seconds due to a lack of evidence, most commonly the failure of a complaining witness to appear in court. Otherwise, the prosecution will almost always make an offer for a plea deal. Nationally, it is estimated that less than 10 percent<\/a><\/u> of all criminal cases go to trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about the crime, the background of the defendant, the effect on the complaining witness, the victim, but in turn I\u2019m also thinking of the defendant.\u201d Haamid said. In crafting an offer on behalf of the state, he has many considerations to make.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this offer beneficial, is it deterrent…Is this what they need?\u201d Haamid said.<\/p>\n

While defendants are happy to avoid a conviction or a guilty plea, coming to court often seems like an inconvenience when the matter is resolved within moments.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The street entrance to the courts at 3150 W Flournoy St. Chicago closed several branch courts at the start of 2019 so the Flournoy Street courts will be absorbing new cases on top of their existing load. (Photo by Chris Schulz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI had to come down here because I didn\u2019t want a warrant,\u201d said Charzel Nash, 20, charged with soliciting unlawful business. Nash claims that the charges were bogus, a result of simply hanging out on a corner with his friends, but a conviction or a bench warrant would have spelled trouble for him. Nash is currently on parole for felony possession of heroin, he said. Nash missed a day of work to sit in court for 30 minutes and appear before the judge for 30 seconds.<\/p>\n

Branch 43 never has a shortage of cases, and most days the case burden is high. Misdemeanors, defined as a lesser crime punishable by a fine and\/or up to one year in jail, make up over two-thirds of the of 77,000 arrests Chicago averages most years. Even under such an unending stream of cases, the state\u2019s attorney\u2019s office does not consider having these cases in the system a burden.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, it\u2019s still a crime.\u201d\u00a0 Haamid said. \u201cThat\u2019s not to say that because a crime is committed, everybody is deserving jail time.\u201d he said, referring to the regular use of deferred prosecution and dismissals that keep the court moving.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a lot of work, but it\u2019s a doable amount of work.\u201d said Tull, but to her the issue is not the amount of work for the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue is how many cases are coming in, and should that many be coming in? The answer is: \u2018Too many\u2019, and \u2018Good God, no\u2019.\u201d Tull said.<\/p>\n

Photo at top:\u00a0The entrance to Branch 43. Phones are not allowed in court, and officers regularly chastise defendants in the gallery for using them while court is in session. (Photo by Chris Schulz)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chris Schulz Medill Reports Cook County Circuit Court Judge Robert Kuzas considered 88 misdemeanor cases over the course of two hours at a recent 9 a.m. hearing. That is considered a moderately slow session in Branch 43, as the county’s misdemeanor court at 3150 W. Flournoy St. is known. Two more sessions filled that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":556,"featured_media":75653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,30,675,4559],"tags":[61,4623,1592,4622],"class_list":["post-75649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-interest","category-public-affairs","category-social-justice","category-winter-2019","tag-chicago","tag-courts","tag-criminal-justice","tag-misdemeanor"],"yoast_head":"\nMisdemeanor court tackles fast-paced flow of cases - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/misdemeanor-court-tackles-fast-paced-flow-of-cases\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Misdemeanor court tackles fast-paced flow of cases - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Chris Schulz Medill Reports Cook County Circuit Court Judge Robert Kuzas considered 88 misdemeanor cases over the course of two hours at a recent 9 a.m. hearing. That is considered a moderately slow session in Branch 43, as the county’s misdemeanor court at 3150 W. Flournoy St. is known. 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