SPRINGFIELD, Illinois (AP) — Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raul informed the state Supreme Court on Friday that he will appeal a local judge’s ruling that eliminating cash bail for criminal defendants is unconstitutional. did.
Raul Notice Requested to High Court Kankakee County Circuit Judge Thomas Cunnington overturns Wednesday’s rulingCunnington decreed that the General Assembly had violated the constitution’s separation of powers clause by abolishing cash bail in the criminal justice reform of the so-called SAFE-T Act. The issue of bail should be left to the judiciary, he said.
of The rest of the SAFE-T methodUpdate law enforcement and court rules and procedures.
Prosecutors and sheriffs from 64 counties have filed lawsuits challenging a bail provision called the Pretrial Fairness Act. Cunnington’s judgment did not include the injunction sought by plaintiffs.
According to Raoul, that means the law is still in force, but the judge’s order prepared by the lead plaintiff, Will County State Attorney James Glasgow, said it was “superficially unconstitutional and unconstitutional.” , is invalid and unenforceable.”
“We are monitoring developments, but we have found Judge Cunnington’s ruling to be applicable here in Will County,” state assistant Kevin Myers said in a statement in the county court on Monday. He added that it would be maintained.
The SAFE-T Act was born in May 2020. Police-involved murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.supported by the country Supreme Court Committee Legislators who recommended reform are innocent until proven guilty and have abolished bail to ease the burden on defendants who cannot afford the price of pretrial freedom.
Cunnington agreed with the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that the Constitution provides for bail as a means of ensuring defendants’ appearance at trial. Raul and other defendants argue that the reform exists to reassure defendants that they have an opportunity to be free while awaiting trial.