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LOCAL News :: Crime & Police

Judge Lefkow grants Kalven motion to unseal documents re: alleged police abuses

Friends,

Judge Joan Lefkow has granted my motion to unseal a number of documents regarding allegations of police abuse that the City of Chicago is trying
to keep secret.

These documents were produced by the City under a protective order (i.e., stamped "confidential") in the course of Bond v. Utreras, the case I wrote
about in "Kicking the Pigeon." The documents at issue are:

* A list of 662 officers with more than ten civilian complaints during a five year period.

* A list of officers with more than ten complaints who were referred to the Chicago Police Department's "early intervention" programs.

* A list of officers with more than ten complaints who were assigned to the Public Housing South Unit.

* The employee complaint histories of the defendant officers in Bond v. Utreras.

* The CR ("Complaint Register") files of investigations of complaints against the defendant officers.

* The CR files of the investigations initiated by Ms. Bond's complaints.

After the parties in the Bond case agreed to settle, I petitioned the court to lift the protective order with respect to these documents. I am represented in this matter by Jon Loevy and Samantha Liskow of Loevy & Loevy.

In reaching the conclusion that "good cause" does not exist to keep the documents secret, Judge Lefkow rejected the City's argument that "granting
Kalven access to the protected documents he seeks to obtain is prejudicial to defendants because it would make public documents that cast defendants
in an unfavorable light while depriving them of the ability and opportunity to effectively respond to them":

"The fact that the allegations of police misconduct contained in the requested materials would bring unwanted, negative attention on defendants is not a basis for shielding the materials from public disclosure. The public has a significant interest in monitoring the conduct of its police officers and a right to know how allegations of misconduct are being
investigated and handled."

Judge Lefkow expressed her confidence that the general public is "sophisticated enough" to understand that allegations of abuse do not
constitute actual proof of abuse. And she observed that the City is not without resources to participate in public debate:

"The City has its own public relations department and there are no doubt countless media outlets that would invite city officials to participate in
an open and frank discussion regarding these and other allegations of police misconduct."

Judge Lefkow also rejected the City's argument that the privacy interests of the police officers outweighs the public interest in the disputed
documents. After noting that I had agreed to the redaction of private information such as addresses and Social Security numbers, she addressed
the City's contention that the documents are part of employee personnel files and thus protected from disclosure:

"That information, though personal, has a distinct public character, as it relates to the defendant officers' performance of their official duties.
Without such information, the public would be unable to supervise the individuals and institutions it has entrusted with extraordinary authority to arrest and detain persons against their will. With so much at stake, defendants simply cannot be permitted to operate in secrecy."

On July 6, the City filed an emergency motion to stay Judge Lefkow's order. At a hearing on July 9, she granted the City a stay until Monday,
July 16 at 5:00 PM. She made it clear that she would not reconsider her ruling. Thus the only avenue open to the City is an appeal to the U. S.
Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

We emphasized to Judge Lefkow that the documents at issue are highly time-sensitive, in light of the fact that the City Council is expected to
vote July 19 on proposed reforms in the way the Chicago Police Department investigates civilian complaints. We argued that aldermen need access to this information, in order to evaluate the proposed legislation. Judge Lekfow responded by lifting the protective order with respect to the City. This means that if an alderman asks the City Law Office for these documents, the City is not legally constrained from providing them.

Late on the afternoon of Friday the 13th, the City initiated the process of appealing to the Seventh Circuit. In the event, the Court of Appeals
does not grant a stay pending appeal by 5:00 PM on Monday, when Judge Lefkow's stay expires, I expect to gain access to the documents and plan
to make them universally available on The View From The Ground.

Related links:

Judge Lefkow's opinion:
viewfromtheground.com/wp-content/media/motion-granted/lefkow-opinion_7-2-07.pdf

"Kicking the Pigeon:
www.viewfromtheground.com/wp-content/media/ktp/kicking_the_pigeon.pdf

Take care,

Jamie


-- Jamie Kalven
www.invisibleinstitute.com www.viewfromtheground.com
 
 

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