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Class Action Settlement to Reform Illinois’ Juvenile Justice Revocation Process

Class Action Settlement to Reform Illinois’ Juvenile Justice Revocation Process

by Derek Gilna

A federal civil rights lawsuit alleged that the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and the Illinois Prisoner Review Board (PRB) conducted “kangaroo court” proceedings for unrepresented defendants in juvenile parole revocation hearings. These hearings, termed a “sham” by the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center and the Uptown People’s Law Center, affected approximately 1,000 young people each year. The two groups filed the civil rights lawsuit that was later became a class action.

According to Alexa Van Brunt, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law and attorney for the MacArthur Justice Center:

“For too many years, children on parole have been removed from their homes, families, and communities, and held in prisons without any real opportunity to challenge their imprisonment...Without a lawyer by their side, they are subject to assembly line justice-churned through a system they don’t understand and re-imprisoned unnecessarily.”

A proposed consent decree enumerated the provisions of the settlement with the state: (1) within one day of being imprisoned for an alleged violation of parole, juvenile defendants must be given written notice of the charges and an explanation of the parole revocation process; (2) juveniles under 18 must be appointed counsel through the revocation process, paid for at public expense; (3) juveniles between 18 and 21 may also be eligible for appointed counsel, after screening if they need help in presenting their case: (4) DJJ and PRB must present parole revocation hearings within 45 days of the juvenile’s incarceration; (5) if the juvenile’s parole is revoked after a final hearing, PRB must provide a written explanation of the decision, and an explanation of possible appeal rights; and (6) an independent monitor will investigate and  monitor the revocation process to determine compliance with the terms of the consent decree, and prepare reports for the federal court on a quarterly basis.

Plaintiffs’ complaint alleged that the PRB systematically deprived juvenile parolees of their rights to a fair hearing and legal representation, and violated the United States Constitution. According to Van Brunt:

“This flawed system creates a revolving door that ensures most young people who leave prison will at some point return.  Not necessarily because they commit a new crime, but because the parole process imprisons youth without a hearing based on a mere allegation that the youth committed a minor violation of his parole...Over the years, thousands of Illinois youth have wrongfully languished in prison because the Illinois Prisoner Review Board violates the most basic tenets of fundamental fairness and due process”

Source: www.law.northwestern.edu