On Tuesday July 18, 2023 the Illinois Supreme Court reversed the underlying court's decision that the SAFE T act was unconstitutional. This means beginning September 18, 2023 criminal defendants will, for the most part, not have to post cash bond any longer. Only the most serious offenses will require a person to remain in custsody pending disposition of their pending charges. The impact this new law will have on the community at large remains to be seen. There are a variety of theories as to what consequences the new law will cause. For persons who are currently in custody on charges other than Murder or Kidnapping the court will need to review their bonds. I intend on filing a motion for release in all cases, except for murder clients, where the clients are unable to post bond. As the law goes into effect in September, we need to wait until that time to do so. However, I anticipate they will be released without bond being required.
Aftet this new law is implemented we will quickly become accustomed to the new pretrial procedures involving release from custody for new offenders. We have discussed this matter with judges who are charge of the cirminal dockets. They have stated that release hearings will be conducted on Saturdays with the assistance of a public defender who will be on site with the judge. The goal is to quicly have a newly charged offender released quickly after being charged.
I will update my site with new information on this topic.
