FUNDING INCREASED FOR STATE APPELLATE DEFENDER
Justice Center Suit Eradicates Unfair Delays for Indigent Criminal Appellants
In 1993, the MacArthur Justice Center instituted class-action habeas corpus litigation on behalf of indigent persons seeking to appeal their criminal convictions in Cook County. Members of the class were being forced to wait for years-in some cases until after they had completely served their sentences-before their appeals would be briefed. This appellate delay was caused by backlogs in the Office of the Illinois State Appellate Defender, which lacked adequate staff to brief appeals on a timely basis and had developed a huge backlog of unbriefed appeals. The federal District Court's opinion in this case, Green v. Washington, 917 F. Supp. 1238 (N.D. Ill. 1996), held that the State had to either fund timely appeals for these indigent persons or release them from prison. Ultimately, the result of this litigation was to increase dramatically the funding to the State Appellate Defender and to reduce the backlog of unbriefed appeals.
Download amended petition Green v. Washington opinion (pdf)
