silence1
silence2

Calling all Illinois Attorneys and FDLA Supporters to say #ILGive72 on #GivingTuesday

Click HERE to give your time

Click HERE to donate $

Help fill the 72 hr gap with legal representation for Chicago arrestees!

Level the playing field

Prevent Wrongful Convictions

First Defense Legal Aid provides free, 24-hour legal representation to people in Chicago Police custody and educates Chicagoans about how to protect their constitutional rights. We undertake these activities to promote fairness and accountability in the justice system.

What the community has to say…

M Rodriguez

I got stopped by my house and invoked my rights. I said I do not consent to searches. They searched me anyways and found a mountain of First Defense cards. They let me go.

Miguel Rodriguez
Artist Educator and Restorative Justice
Max Cerda

I’m a social worker and this Hotline has been crucial for myself and my mentees. First Defense lawyers taught me that the only way to out think police, because you can’t out talk them, is to say “I want my lawyer” and wait until First Defense gets there.

Max Cerda
Social Worker
R Stone

Hotline lawyers, and law students in some instances, are willing to get up in the middle of the night and go to police stations to help people assert their rights. It’s really about equality for People of Color and poor people.

Randolph Stone
Founder and Clinical Professor, University of Chicago Law School

Statistics

0% of people have the constitutional right to an attorney while in police custody.
0% arrestees had a lawyer present while in Chicago police custody in 2013.*
0% of Mirandized arrestees waive their Miranda rights after being arrested.
$0M in savings annually if everyone in Cook County Jail had access to an attorney within 24h of arrest.

FDLA is the only way people in Chicago Police custody can access free legal representation and we are reachable 24/7! You can contact FDLA at anytime.

* Actual reported number of arrestees who had a lawyer present while in Chicago police custody in 2013 is 0.2%.

Partner in Justice Monthly Giving Campaign

Chart 1 0%
1(800) LAW-REP-4 is the only way people in Chicago police custody might access their right to counsel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 52 weeks a year, free of charge. Help sustain this 100% unique service by enrolling as a Partner in Justice at $7, $24, or $52. With your commitment, monthly donations are automatically withdrawn for one year. Thank you!

First Defense is a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization. Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.