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Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez skips work for the Hawks parade; forgets to tell the Jury pool
By CYR Member - Scott Davis
Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks on their Stanley Cup victory this week and on their amazing downtown parade today that drew over 2 million people (City of Chicago estimate).
And congratulations to the "Hockey Mom of all Hockey Mom's", Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, who was able to take the day off and bring her children to the parade. Truly a once in a lifetime experience, I'm sure. I wouldn't know about that because I was summoned for Jury Duty today at the County Courthouse at 26th and California. I arrived at 9:30am, took my number, watched the instructional video and listened to the supervisor explain what I could expect from the day and where I might go for lunch. After the instructions were completed, the televisions were turned on and I was able to watch the parade from the Jury Room. Imagine my surprise when this interview aired...
After watching the parade on TV I got to wondering how any cases would be prosecuted today with the Cook County State's Attorney taking the day off to celebrate the Stanley Cup. Would the "Hockey Mom of all Hockey Mom's" be returning to work to take a tough stance on criminal activity in Cook County? "You Betcha!", I told myself.
The supervisor came back at noon and told us we would break for lunch but that we had to return by 1:30 in case a court case needed jurors. I then received a call from a friend who wanted to know if I wanted to go to the Cubs/Sox game today at 1:20pm. I of course declined, believing that I had to stay and complete my civic duty. After returning from lunch, I waited for 45 minutes and was eventually let go for the day. APPARENTLY, THERE WERE NO CASES IN NEED OF JURORS IN COOK COUNTY TODAY!!!
I hope you had a great time at the Blackhawks parade today Anita! I didn't get to go because I was busy earning $17.20 (for the day) serving Jury Duty with about a hundred other unlucky people. Imagine my surprise to learn you would not be prosecuting any cases today as I watched this interview from the Jury room. Thanks for considering us peasants in the Jury pool as you took your kids to the parade today. Apparently, it really is "nice to have a mom who is a State's Attorney." I'll remember that the next time you're up for re-election.
Comments
Please tell me that you don't
Please tell me that you don't really believe that Anita Alvarez literally prosecutes all the cases at 26th Street. There are approximately 900 assitant state's attorneys throughout Cook County putting on trials whether Anita shows up for work or not.
I hope you were being sarcastic but you came off seeming ignorant.
Jury Service
In Illinois, only the defense can ask for a jury trial. At 26th Street, virtually every day there are cases set for jury trials because the defense attorney indicated it would be a jury trial. So they must call in jurors. But on the day of trial, faced with professional Assistant States Attorneys who have prepared their cases and are ready for trial, the defendant often gets cold feet and pleads guilty or asks for a continuance. So if anyone has an animosity because they obeyed their jury summons, but were not called to a courtroom to see if they would be picked, the animosity should be directed towards the defendant or the defense attorney. The Assistant States Attorney is powerless to interfere with the defendant's right to pick either a jury trial or bench trial.
There are a lot of problems with State Attorney Anita Alvarez's administration, but Scott Davis' critique is not one of them. If you want to bark up the right tree, attack her disregard of the Second Amendment, and the record low level of morale among the Assistant States Attorneys.