SR0757 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0757 LRB102 24631 MST 33869 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, On March 17, 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court issued an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic by allowing Illinois courts to establish and update, as necessary, temporary procedures, including the use of remote technology, to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on the court system while continuing to provide access to justice; and

WHEREAS, In May of 2020, the Illinois Supreme Court adopted the "Illinois Supreme Court Policy on Remote Court Appearances in Civil Proceedings" to allow and encourage the broad use of remote court appearances; and

WHEREAS, The subsequent development of a vaccine and fluctuating changes in COVID-19 numbers allowed the resumption of in-person court hearings periodically throughout the pandemic but on a sporadic and county by county basis; and

WHEREAS, The National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) issued a report in March of 2021 entitled "Due Process in the Time of COVID" that examined the use of remote technology on the ability of lawyers to represent children in conflict with the law; and

WHEREAS, The NJDC report, based on interviews with lawyers representing children in 38 states, concluded that "the shift to technology-based communications and remote hearings threatens young people's constitutional rights, including fundamental aspects of effective legal representation, due process, and access to courts"; and

WHEREAS, The NJDC report also found that "the pandemic has magnified the disparate treatment of youth of color in the delinquency system and the disproportionate danger youth of color face due to their overrepresentation in facilities and the system as a whole"; and

WHEREAS, The NJDC report cautioned that the "findings raise serious concerns about the future operations of juvenile courts once the pandemic subsides...Technology-based communications have caused significant barriers in client communication and access to counsel"; and

WHEREAS, The NJDC report finds that "every person accused of a crime has a constitutional right to be present at hearings in which their participation may affect the outcome"; and

WHEREAS, Privacy concerns and technological challenges with the use of remote conferencing technology has a chilling impact on confidential communication between the attorney and the client during hearings; and

WHEREAS, In interviews conducted by the Juvenile Justice Initiative with six children who were sentenced to juvenile prison in the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice resulting from Zoom court hearings, the children were concerned when speaking with their lawyers through remote technology that their statements would be overheard by another person, such as counselors or correctional officers, who may be just outside the room where they were teleconferencing; and

WHEREAS, Remote conferencing limits the capacity of an attorney to ascertain the true level of comprehension of the legal process by their juvenile client; and

WHEREAS, Virtual hearings limit the capacity of children to convey emotion and read subtle cues and gestures; and

WHEREAS, Virtual hearings dehumanize children; and

WHEREAS, A report from the Brennan Center for Justice (Brennan Center) entitled "The Impact of Video Proceedings on Fairness and Access to Justice in Court" highlights some of the negative impacts of remote hearings; and

WHEREAS, The Brennan Center report includes a study of Cook County's early use of remote technology in felony bond hearings, beginning in 1999, where defendants participated in bond hearings through closed-circuit television; and

WHEREAS, The study of over 645,000 Cook County felony bond hearings between 1991 and 2007 concluded that the average bond amount was 51 percent higher when the hearing was virtual and that some cases saw increases of as much as 91 percent in bond amount; and

WHEREAS, The study, along with a class action lawsuit, caused Cook County to voluntarily return to live bail hearings; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Illinois Supreme Court to exercise its authority to require courts throughout Illinois to responsibly transition hearings conducted under Article V of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 back to in-person hearings with priority to those hearings where liberty interests are at stake; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Supreme Court and the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) to exercise a rights-based approach when weighing the impact of, and determining policy on, remote court appearances, especially those under Article V of the Juvenile Court Act, focusing primarily on protecting children's rights to in-person participation and confrontation, including the benefits of children being able to meet with their lawyers in person prior to and after court hearings; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Supreme Court and AOIC to work to ensure that court policies, processes, and procedures implemented to protect the health and well-being of youth involved in the justice system do not infringe upon their access to counsel and their right to a fair trial; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we understand that with the possibility of COVID-19 variants or another significant public health crisis there may be times when the Illinois Supreme Court deems it appropriate to transition to virtual hearings for the purpose of protecting the health and well-being for all court hearing participants but that the use of remote technology shall be a last resort for as short a time as possible and all efforts should be made to ensure children have their lawyers physically present during virtual hearings, especially in cases where liberty interests are at stake.