Unfair Detention of Witnesses by Chicago Police
Update (October 2005)
MJC Class Action Suit Against Illegal Lock-Ups Goes to Trial
An alleged Chicago Police Department policy of detaining witnesses in criminal cases against their will, sometimes for days, violates the constitution and should be banned, according to a class-action lawsuit currently on trial in U.S. District Court. The suit was prompted by the cases of Ramon Ayala and Kyle Davis, each of whom was subjected to the alleged policy. Former Chicago Police Chief of Detectives James Molloy was questioned concerning police practices with regard to detaining witnesses. In addition, witnesses who have been unlawfully detained in connection with criminal cases and police officers who have enforced the detention practice took the stand to testify about their experiences.
Download trial press release (pdf)
Update (April 5, 2005)
MacArthur Justice Center Files Class Action Lawsuit to Prevent Illegal Lock-Ups
The Chicago Police Department’s practice of detaining witnesses in criminal cases against their will would be banned under a lawsuit brought by the MacArthur Justice Center.
The class action suit, brought on behalf of victims of the Police Department’s detention policy, is pending in federal district court in Chicago. The suit charges that each year Police round up and detain dozens of Chicagoans believed to be witnesses in criminal cases. The witnesses are confined without their consent to interrogation rooms – sometimes for as many as 48 hours - without being suspected of any wrongdoing.
As noted in the suit, in a previous case First Defense Legal Aid v. City of Chicago, the federal trial court found that these interrogation rooms are often "windowless…lack toilet facilities or running water and are typically furnished only with a metal bench bolted to the wall." Much of what the court found was based on admissions by defendant Cline and another high-ranking member of the Police.
"It's shocking that the Chicago police lock up witnesses as a matter of policy. This practice has been going on for years and clearly violatesthe Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, which do not allow abuse of people during the investigation of a crime," said Locke Bowman, legal director of the MacArthur Justice Center.
Download lawsuit press release (pdf)
Update (September 18, 2003)
MJC Lawsuit Says Chicago Police Locked Up Witnesses for Days
The Chicago Police Department has a policy of locking up and interrogating witnesses who are not charged or suspected of any criminal wrongdoing, according to a lawsuit filed on September 18, 2003, in federal court by the MacArthur Justice Center, the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic and First Defense Legal Aid. The suit was filed on behalf of three individuals who were locked in a police interrogation room for questioning for as long as two full days, denied access to legal counsel and in some cases without food or use of a bathroom.
Download press release (pdf)
Download complaint (pdf)
