Cook County Jail

Pre-sentencing

Interview with Rachel, Jason, Kat, JM Advice, Brian, DavidP, keke, Teabag, Crystal, isaac, Lucky, Laydie and Edward

JM: Tell us about the pre-sentencing process:
Rachel: the 50 they searched me in and out took all my thining
Jason: I was arrested at O.H. Airport returning from a over seas business trip. I was detained by Customs for Warrent in Texas for a Failure to appear on a summins that I never recived. I am 53 yrs old and NEVER been arrested in my life for anything..Never. I was told by the judge that I could not post bail to go home and try and find out what the hell was going on. The lady judge would not allow me to speak a word in my defense..NOT A WORD...
Kat: I was there for an Extradition Warrant. I was never told of what was going on or the process. I was arrested by Homeland Security at the Airport -- for bad check warrant -- taken to a city jail put in a cell -- woke up at 4AM moved to the County Courthouse -- put in a bull pen -- saw a lawyer at 1 PM told me that I was going to court -- went to court for 30 sec was told I would be housed at Cook County for up to 30 days until Missouri could pick me up on warrant. Then I was processed medically and paperwork wise -- was moved to DIV 4 cellblock -- no food or water until I got there around midnight. So went without food and water for 34 hours.
JM Advice: Cook County Jail has an unusually high amount of inmate traffic in the door and out. For this reason presentencing usually is not dragged out in the form of police questioning, etc. Unless you are facing while collar crimes there is a very good chance that you will be taken immediately to jail - you may or may not have the opportunity to pay bail and get out of jail until your trial.
Brian: Well, initially, basically I was picked up, it was for driving on a suspended license, so when they took me in, when I was put into the county jail, from actually getting to the court, it took about 8 hours. Most of the time, I was put into different cells where they periodically call your name and transfer you to a different cell. You have to understand that the county jail here is extremely overcrowded. Any person with an offense, whether it's a minor offense or a major offense, they get put into the general holding room. It took about eight hours, I think.
DavidP: I didn't have much of a pre-sentence process. It was a driving- related charge, and it normally doesn't carry jail time for that charge. It does occasionally, but not normally.
keke: it was so messy
Teabag: First court appearance was the Bond hearing
Crystal: The bond court is a travesty of justice. On felonies at 26th and California there is a video bond court, where you are held in a crowded dirty basement and a video hooks you with the courtroom. You illegally are denied access to a public defender and bond is set without your input which is illegal. This is presently being challenged as a class action in the courts. High bails are set compared to the rest of the country because the court clerk keeps ten % even if you are found innocent. This funds the court system and is an incentive for judges to set high bail and refuse to give personal recognizance bails. Public defenders have 100s of cases each and have no more than a minute to look at the arrest report on a misdemeanor and a minute to ask you or your family how much money they can pay in bail so they can argue for what you can pay to be the bail set. The public defenders do the best they can, but don't have much time to talk to you.
isaac: i reported 30 days after sentencing
Lucky: It was a lot of meaningless court dates.
Laydie: the guards were very co-operative, and well schooled,towards the inmates,during our booking processes, they never made us feel belittled.

JM: Did you have police stop by your house for questioning?
Rachel: no they just walked into the crib and took me
Jason: NO
Kat: NO
JM Advice: The police may show up and ask you questions, though this obviously won't happen if you are picked up for a driving crime (DUI, etc.) or in the commission of a crime. If the police do come they will most likely be friendly - their job is not to judge you, just to gather information about your crime.
Brian: No, I was basically pulled over for having a brake light out, and then obviously when they checked my driver's license, they realized [I had outstanding tickets], so at that point, they cuffed me and took me directly into the station.
keke: no why does that matter
Teabag: ???? Retarded WTF..... No the Fugitive Squad came (15 plain clothes officers) at 10:30 am..... Kicked the door down after surrounding the house, beat me into submission and took me to CCDOC and booked me in.
Crystal: No
isaac: no
Lucky: No I was in custody.

JM: What was your court appearance like?
Rachel: i was dressed nice. and the judge was all mean so i didnt even care what happend to me.
Jason: It was a joke, the atty appointed to me did not give 2 Minutes to try to explain what was going on, she did not even know my last name..Or nor did she care. I tryed to explain to the Judge that My Own Brother is a crimnial judge in Texas and she would not let me talk...Some justice..
Kat: You are kidding. I saw a lawyer for maybe 1 minute -- court lasted maybe 30 seconds
JM Advice: Depending on the information gathered during discovery (the process of investigating to find out whether a crime has been committed or not) you may or may not be scheduled for a court appearance. Usually a court appearance will only be scheduled with some pretty convincing evidence - for this reason the judges overseeing criminal courts have usually heard a variety of excuses, half-truths and outright lies. Hire a good attorney if you are facing serious criminal charges - a good attorney may be expensive but the price of an inferior attorney is much higher - somebody who could save you months of time for a few thousand dollars would be well worth his or her retainer. You are typically much better off with a private attorney than a public defender. At all stages of the presentencing process you can expect a lot of waiting - you may wait several hours for your case to come up on the docket, you will spend hours in a holding cell at each stage of the process and former inmates report sometimes being transferred from holding cell to holding cell for no apparent reason. The actual trial date itself may be pushed back several times and end up taking a year or longer in some cases.
Brian: Ok, that took about 7 or 8 hours because I was put into several different holding rooms. It was really overcrowded.
DavidP: I went to court in December of 2005, and I was thinking it would be a quick court appearance, and I'd be done, and it was a quick court appearance, but unfortunately, I went out a door that I didn't anticipate. The judge ruled me guilty of the offense that I was charged with, and right then, the county sheriff took me into custody.
keke: it was horriable
Teabag: 1st: 1 minute in front of the Video Bond Judge to find out I had a NO BOND HOLD. (for the charge of Escape) 2nd: 1 minute to get a 30 day continuance 3rd: 1 minute to get another 35 day continuance after being handed a Grand Jury indictment. 4th: 30 more days while the State prepared their case 5th: When I opened my mouth (instead of waiting for the asshole Public Defender i was assigned) and presented the Judge with legal documents from a prior cout date proving i was not where the Cook County Electronic Monitoring Department claimed i was the day prior to my re- incarceration. The judge determined that the arrest was NULLIE VOID and the state had absolutely no case against me. Even though 1 hour prior to my going in front of the judge i was given an offer of 5 years. I proved that in certain cases the Cook County legal system is almost laughable. I was released the same day (about 10 hours later) after processing out.
Crystal: I represented myself and won 19 cases so far, but I have an MD and a PhD and have studied law for a hobby for decades. Almost everyone should have an attorney. I was convicted on the one case I had an attorney. The judges are ignorant of the law and favor the prosecutors in general although there are a few good ones. What I noticed is that inmates don't know how to keep their mouths shut. Everything you say can be used against you and there are snitches who may tell the guards and prosecutors what you said. The prosecutors are not to be trusted nor are the guards. The best advice is to keep asking your attorney specific detailed questions until you understand what is going on. There is a lot of ignorance among the inmates and those who keep asking short specific questions get through it better. Feel free to ask other inmates what questions you should ask. Dont give much personal information but you can tell others what you are charged with so they can give you questions to ask unless it is a sex offense or beating up a child. Then you shouldn't tell others because you might get hurt in jail. The constant continuances because the State has not produced evidence for trial or due to pretrial motions of your attorney asking for more time to obtain evidence or interview witnesses is frustrating. There is a difference between misdemeanors (sentence may be up to one year) and felonies (sentences may be more than one year and much more consequences). In misdemeanors there is no arraignment before entering your plea. The first appearance your bond is set if it was not set at the police station where they can give you a $1000 I-Bond (personal recognizance) or D-Bond (you must pay 10% to get out) and the prosecutor states the charges against you. If you have a history, then the police won't likely set bail and they will take you before a judge. The next court date you enter your plea, and your attorney is given the arrest report. 99% of misdemeanors are settled on first hearing with a plea bargain, after a public defender talks to you for 1-5 minutes and then discusses the case with the prosecutor and you are instantly sentenced after the judge is given verbal report by prosecutor about what they would be able to prove if you went to trial, you state you are pleading guilty and waive your right to trial. If you choose to plead innocent and go to trial, then a trial date is set. In felonies there is an arraignment where you are told the charges or waive reading of it and enter a plea. Then there is a bond hearing which may or may not occur at the same time. Then there are hearings to obtain discovery (evidence that the State has against you and evidence you will use at trial including summary of witness interviews). Then there are pretrial motions to block evidence (motions in limine or motions to suppress evidence) and other pretrial issues (if you need a mental health exam to plead insane, and many other issues), then a trial. The pretrial hearings are very short in general and annoying at the way things are dragged out due to laziness of attorneys or overworked defense attorneys without enough time for you or because the investigatio is going slowly because investigators for public defenders are overworked and don't get to your issues like interviewing witnesses quickly. Defendants are constantly frustrated at not getting much information from their public defenders and because they don't get enough time to talk to the public defenders and tell them their concerns and how to find witnesses and details of what happened. The officers are uneducated thugs. They are pretty violent at CCDOC and they have a history of hiding baseball bats and other objects to use to beat the crap out of you. Most guards (they get pissed off if you call them guards and not officers) have no more than a high school education and training for a few months at the Sheriff's accademy. They don't know how to recognize illness and say you are faking symptoms, have anxiety, or are dope sick. Don't expect any help from them. The deputies in courtroom services are just pushing around the meat. They expect you to follow orders and they will answer simple questions about what's going on some of the time. There are very long waits in holding cells, inadequate water - so most inmates are chronically dehydrated, and nothing more than a rotten boloney sandwhich and KookAid type artificial drink. The holding cells may be very cold in winter. Drink as much as you can before court appearances. Tell the judge if you are sick even if your attorney does not and the judge may order you to be seen by a doctor.
Edward: It started to be just a Normal court appearance but due to my disrespect for the court room and to the Judge it turned into the worst day of my life.
isaac: not good i got time
Lucky: Fast! You better pay attention or you can miss your freedom.
Laydie: my court appearance was as swift and quick, and well organized as could be the public defender was dutifully presentable and very understandable the judge was well educated and prompt and consistent as well as understandable.