I have been representing the criminally accused for nearly fifteen years—the entirety of my legal career. The first four years of my career were as a public defender—representing indigent Chicagoans on appeals of their criminal convictions. This included both direct appeals immediately after their convictions as well as appeals of dismissals of post-conviction or collateral… Read More
While traditional discussions of civil rights and legal personhood tend to conjure thoughts of wronged prisoners and corporate tax write-offs, a global network of professionals are fighting to change that idea to include something a little less human. Believe it or not, for more than two decades lawyers, primatologists, anthropologists and others have led a global… Read More
Every quarter, we offer a wrongful conviction roundup, recounting a sample of hard fought exonerations over the past three months. Typically, the post is a celebration of the quarter’s newly innocent and a description of their challenging journeys to exoneration. This quarter, however, with a Department of Justice that is anti-justice and an administration that steadily assaults civil… Read More
Sometimes individuals are wronged and it’s because of a system-wide problem. In those cases, there is strength in numbers, and class action lawsuits – lawsuits on behalf of groups of people who were similarly injured – are often the most effective tool for change. For example, Loevy & Loevy has won class action lawsuits against… Read More
At Altering Convictions we share our perspective about combating police brutality, opposing mass incarceration, and fighting injustice. All of our pieces presume a few basic truths that are inarguable. It is unacceptable for law enforcement to treat certain people’s lives as expendable. Law enforcement should honor everyone’s constitutional rights. And all people should be treated… Read More
States Attorney Alvarez Shields Dirty Cops From Prosecution, Says Suit CHICAGO – A civil rights attorney here filed suit against the Chicago Police Department today for stonewalling his Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests aimed at gathering more evidence about lying while under oath by two police officers, Allyson Bogdalek and Dominick Catinella. “The public… Read More
Attacks in Apparent Violation of Federal Law East St. Louis, IL, March 19 – A suit filed in federal court here today alleges that last year an Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) guard unit known as “Orange Crush” rounded up and physically abused hundreds of prisoners in “shakedowns” over periods of several days at four… Read More
Despite history of improperly withholding “street files” from criminal defendants, CPD tries to keep information secret under FOIA that could lead to exonerations For years, the Chicago Police Department hid from criminal defendants potentially exculpatory information in secret unofficial “street files.” In response to widespread criticism of this practice, CPD changed its policies to require… Read More
President Retaliated Against Timothy McGettigan for Criticizing Proposed Cuts, Alleging Financial Mismanagement DENVER, January 14, 2015 – A professor at Colorado State University-Pueblo filed a federal civil rights suit today against Colorado State University President Lesley DiMare and CSUS Board of Governors for violating his 1st Amendment freedoms by cutting off his email access in… Read More
Privacy activist Freddy Martinez sued the Chicago Police Department today to force release of records showing the extent of its use of sophisticated spying equipment that can trick residents’ and visitors’ cell phones into transmitting personal information to the police. The Freedom of Information Act suit also aims to discover whether the CPD has any… Read More
