
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.
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.
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.
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.
I think any attorney, anyone who’s been through law school would know how important early access to counsel in a criminal case is. That only 302 people had a lawyer go to the police station in a year is pretty shocking.
* Actual reported number of arrestees who had a lawyer present while in Chicago police custody in 2018 is 1.67%.