Cook County Announces Start Of Weekend Juvenile Hearings
CHICAGO (AP) — Starting next month, the Circuit Court of Cook County will hold juvenile probable cause hearings on holidays and weekends.
Chief Judge Timothy Evans announced the change Friday.
It is in response to a federal lawsuit filed last month by four parents who contended the county violated the constitutional rights of juveniles who spent more than two days in the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center waiting for a hearing.
Cook County holds hearings for adults 365 days a year. The county says its previous practice of limiting of juvenile hearings to weekdays was in compliance with state law and that other counties do the same.
Judge Evans said in a written statement Friday that the county treats "juveniles humanely, with due process and with respect."
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