Patterico's Pontifications

1/15/2009

Courtroom 302 and The Chicago Way (in Criminal Law)

Filed under: Crime,General — Patterico @ 12:08 am



I’m reading a book called “Courtroom 302” about the criminal justice system in Chicago. It’s very interesting, and while it comes from a somewhat liberal perspective it makes some telling points.

One of the things I find most interesting is how different so many things are. For example, a standard murder in Chicago is apparently punishable by 20-60 years, served at halftime. There appear to be no enhancements for use of a gun. [UPDATE: Commenters say there is one, but it wasn’t applied in the case I read about in the book.] Here in California, a similar murder earns you 15-to-life (for a second degree) or 25-to-life (for a first degree) plus a gun enhancement of 25-to-life. Even on murder alone, without a gun, you serve the whole 25 years (on a first degree) before you’re eligible for parole. And on gun-related violent crimes not resulting in murder, defendants serve 85% of their time.

So reading about a defendant pleading for 38 years (actually 19) for a gang-related murder with a gun is just bizarre. That could happen here if the case were weak — but the one I read about involved a confession and two positive IDs. Wow.

Also, bench trials outnumber court trials 11 to 1. That’s unthinkable in Los Angeles, where bench trials are exceedingly rare.

Also, in Chicago, they apparently force juries to deliberate far into the evening. (Based on a book I recently read about a jury trial in New York, this happens in New York as well.) Here, the court breaks in the afternoon, usually by 4:30 p.m. — and if the jury hasn’t reached a verdict, you come back the next day.

Finally, the D.A. there reportedly has a contest (or did at one point) where new attorneys try to be the first to convict 4000 pounds’ worth of defendants. Fat defendants get good deals and skinny ones don’t. That’s ridiculous enough, but there is apparently (according to the book) even a racist name that some prosecutors use for the contest. As an 11-year veteran of the L.A. D.A., I can say with confidence that the very idea of such a contest is utterly unthinkable, and to have a racist component or name is even more unthinkable. If the book is telling the truth, it tells you something very significant about the difference between the prosecuting offices as well.

Maybe there are readers from the Cook County state’s attorney’s office who dispute that story. I’d like to think so, because this anecdote paints a pretty ugly picture of the office.

There are other differences, but those jumped out at me so far. It’s amazing how insular legal communities can be — especially local criminal practices. You pick up a set of procedures that is very similar to other places in some ways, and radically different in others. Yet it seems like the norm to you — and it seems completely foreign to people on the outside.

It’s not a bad book, by the way — but I’m only 160 pages or so in.

I’m particularly interested in the reaction of nk, who practices criminal law in Cook County.

22 Responses to “Courtroom 302 and The Chicago Way (in Criminal Law)”

  1. “NK” stands for No Kilotons… basically because nk is such a dogged prosecutor of the hefty.

    It’s a sad sad situation.

    Joco (4cdfb7)

  2. Illinois uses a “Class X” enhancement that I believe covers the area mentioned.
    On the other hand, what this post doesn’t include is the incredible clumsiness of the system here. Everything drags out, everybody’s connected, nothing works right.
    I would hazard an uneducated guess that the reasons for the higher proportion of bench trials have to do with: fixed trials, high rates of plea bargaining, and just plain everybody getting along- bench trials are easier on the operators.

    WPZ (e1deb7)

  3. For first degree murder the base sentence is 20 to 60. However, if there are certain aggravating factors, but the death penalty is not imposed, the sentence can be extended up to 100 years determinate, or natural life. Use of a firearm in a homicide carries a mandatory, consecutive, 15 years if the weapon is merely carried, 20 years if it is discharged, 25 years if it proximately causes the death.

    I was not aware of the specific 11 to 1 ratio of bench trial to jury trial, but it sounds likely. I attribute it to a high proportion of “good” judges over “bad” judges. Some judges have only bench trials. A handful have only juries. The chief judges have almost absolute control over judges’ assignments, so a full Circuit Judge elected countywide without criminal experience may be sent to traffic court, and a lowly Associate Judge, appointed for a two-year term after ten years as an Assistant State’s Attorney or Public Defender, might be designated to hear death penalty cases. (BTW, the very first “good” judge I encountered who had only bench trials was a former ASA.)

    I had not heard about the weight competition. I know that there was a montly pool and the winner would be the ASA who obtained the most years of incarceration. Supposedly it was ordered stopped, but my PD friends tell me that it still exists on the quiet.

    nk (9097f8)

  4. This post is one more example of why I read this site: Intelligence. And that goes for many posters here as well. I trust some of these nics more than most news faces, even though I’ve never met them in real life; hell, I’ve never met a reporter in real life, either. It’s a matter of sound logic coherently and cogently written that impresses me. I guess I must have high standards, but I’m sure that would make the nuns who taught me very happy. Thanks Sister Robert, Sister Joseph, Sister Francinus — and thanks to you, Mr. Frey. You do more than just the legal profession credit.

    RickZ (472435)

  5. The conviction/acquittal ratio for either bench or jury is about 50:50 across all the felony courtrooms for either bench or jury. The overall conviction rate is about 85% including pleas but not including nolle prosses or SOLs. I’m guessing, but I would say that only one case in twenty goes to trial whether bench or jury.

    nk (9097f8)

  6. There was one judge, R. Eugene Pincham, who was called The Prince of Darkness because his trials would go on until 8:00 p.m.. Was he maybe the judge in Courtroom 302?

    That’s not the rule. Judges are generally considerate of their jurors and their court personnel. Trials and deliberations will often go on past 4:30 but not by much.

    nk (9097f8)

  7. The 302 judge in the book is Locallo.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  8. There is a Daniel Locallo who is now in Law Division (civil jury) but I have never appeared before him. Judge Pincham was from quite a ways back, as well.

    nk (9097f8)

  9. Aren’t complaints like these (or maybe observations is a better word) why there was such a push for a Uniform Criminal Code in the 60’s and 70’s?

    chad (20cc4c)

  10. I see nk already covered the firearm enhancements, which can be found at 730 ILCS 5/5-8-1(a)(1)(d).

    Karl (2491e1)

  11. Yes, Daniel Locallo.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  12. And here’s a bit more on the late R. Eugene Pincham folks might find interesting.

    Karl (2491e1)

  13. I updated the post to include the fact (not mentioned in the book with respect to the murder case discussed) that there is indeed a firearm enhancement.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  14. Mayor Daley condeming some property!

    I suspect what you are reading is all true.

    Joe (17aeff)

  15. I missed chad at #9

    Illinois has a Criminal Code and a Code of Corrections (for sentencing). The latter has any number of enhancements, which made for a load of fun when the US Supreme Court handed down Apprendi.

    Karl (f07e38)

  16. All I remember about the Hon. Pincham are his many hijinks regarding the late Mayor Washington’s term in office here. Not pleasant.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  17. I looked up the book. I don’t know if you’ve gotten to the part yet where it talks about Chicago detectives hiding exculpatory evidence from the prosecutor and even the police department itself. I have no personal knowledge of the case that (then ASA) Locallo was involved in, but I assure you that that practice was something I was always on the lookout for, since 1984.

    nk (9097f8)

  18. FINGERPRINT ANALYSIS ERRORS — YIKES

    I don’t know where else to post this. According to KABC, see
    http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=6605807,
    and other news outlets, about a 1000 cases might (notice the conditional qualifier) be affected and will be reviewed.

    According to the article,

    “The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office pointed out that in many of these cases, other evidence was presented at trial other than fingerprints, and many of the defendants plead guilty.”

    I hope that even the cases which pleaded out are reviewed because some people who might (notice the conditional qualifier) have been innocent may have pled guilty when faced with the the threat of a longer prison term if convicted at trial.

    I also hope that the cause of the errors is rooted out and publicly disclosed.

    Ira (28a423)

  19. Dmac,

    See the link at #12.

    Karl (07b9ca)

  20. Karl – linkee no workee.

    Dmac (eb0dd0)

  21. Judge David O. Carter used to go into the night, once till midnight, if I recall, because he was at a location. (The court reporter billed for 2 days and got it.) He was one of the first to report defendants to immigration, too, and would bind and gag noisy defendants. And he was a Democrat! Don’t know if he still is…

    Patricia (89cb84)

  22. I’m going to read the book because Bogira is not a lawyer. I want to see a non-lawyer’s view of our system.

    I hand-held a (friendly) prosecution witness just recently, and although everything went the way I predicted it would she was very upset afterwards with the whole process. Which made me wonder about the the things we lawyers take in stride.

    nk (9097f8)


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