Illinois Criminal Lawyer Blog
On July 18, 2023 the Illinois Supreme Court handed down its long anticipated ruling in Rowe v. Raoul, 2023 IL 129248. Siding with the Appellants in this matter, the Illinois Supreme Court has rejected the constitutional objections to Public Acts 101-652 and 102-1104. Cash bail will be eliminated in Illinois effective September 18, 2023.
The opinion was delivered by Justice Theis with dissents by Justices Overstreet and Holder White, the Illinois Supreme Court reviewed the constitutional framework for bail in Illinois.
It is important to note that the Court’s decision does not mean that every person charged with a crime will be automatically released, the act itself includes a list of enumerated offenses for which the trial courts may consider pre-trial detention if the defendant poses a real threat to the safety of any person or the community. That list can be found in 725 ILCS 5/110-6.1 and includes the following:
1-defendants charged with a felony offense, other than a forcible felony, for which a sentence to the Illinois Department of Corrections is required upon conviction and the defendant’s pre-trial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons in the community based on specific articulable facts of the case;
2-a defendant poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons based on specific articulable facts of the case and the defendant is charged with a forcible felony. Forcible felony means: treason, first degree murder, second degree murder, predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, aggravated criminal sexual assault, armed robbery, aggravated robbery, robbery, burglary where there is use of force against another person, residential burglary, home invasion, vehicular invasion, aggravated arson, arson, aggravated kidnaping, kidnaping, aggravated battery resulting in great bodily harm or permanent disability or disfigurement
3-defendant is charged with stalking or aggravated stalking and it is alleged that the defendant’s pre-trial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of a victim of the alleged offense and defendant’s pre-trial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons;
4-defendant charged with a violation of an order of protection, a stalking no contact order, or a civil no contact order and defendant’s pre-trial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons;
5-defendant charged with domestic battery or aggravated domestic battery and defendant’s pre-trial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons;
6-defendant is charged with certain sex offenses as defined in the criminal code of 2012 in sections: 11-14, 11-14.1, 11-18, 11-20, 11-30, 11-35, 11-40, 11-45 and defendant’s pre-trial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons;
7-defendant is charged with any of the following offenses: aggravated discharge of a firearm (24-1.2 or 24-2.5); reckless discharge of a firearm (24-1.5); armed habitual criminal (24-1.7); manufacture, sale or transfer of bullets or shells (24-2.2); unlawful sale or delivery of firearms (24-3 or 24-3.3 or 24-3.4); unlawful purchase of a firearm (24-3.5); gunrunning (24-3A); firearms trafficking (24-3B); involuntary servitude or sexual servitude of a minor or trafficking persons (10-9(b), (c), (d)); non-probationable violations including unlawful use/possession of weapons by felons in custody of DOC (24-1.1); aggravated unlawful use of a weapon (24 1.1 or-1.6), or aggravated possession of a stolen firearm (24-3.9); reckless homicide or involuntary manslaughter (9-3); residential burglary (19-3); child abduction (10-5); child endangerment; hate crimes (12-7.1); aggravated unlawful restraint (10-3.1); threatening a public official (12-9); aggravated battery with a deadly weapon other than firearm (12-3.05) and defendant’s pre-trial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons;
8-defendant is charged with cruel treatment, aggravated cruelty, and animal torture; aggravated DUI while operating a school bus with passengers; aggravated DUI after a previous reckless homicide conviction; aggravated DUI leading to death; or aggravated DUI resulting in bodily harm to a child under 16 and defendant’s pre-trial release poses a real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons.