Honors Scholar Class Project: Chicago Eviction Court Study
According to a study conducted by Chicago-Kent Honors Scholars
and co-sponsored by the Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing,
the Chicago Eviction Courts' lack of attention to procedural requirements,
although not necessarily subverting justice, harms the dignity
of tenants and often sends them away with little to no understanding
of the judgments against them.
The honors scholar class of 2004 teamed up with
the Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing to study Chicago’s
Eviction Courts. During the fall of 2002, the students monitored
763 cases. A report documenting their findings - No
Time for Justice, A Study of Chicago's Eviction Court - was released on December 18, 2003. In response to the findings
outlined in the report, students are now talking with judges of
the eviction courts to discuss potential reform.
The study showed that the average duration of a case
was 1 minute and 44 seconds, that landlords frequently failed to meet
their statutory burden of proof without consequence, and that tenants
were rarely given the chance to state a defense to the landlord’s
claims. The students also found that parties were sworn in before giving
testimony in only 8% of the cases, that the judge examined the written
notice given by the landlord to the tenant and required by Illinois law
in only 65% of the cases, and that the judge asked the tenants for a defense
in only 27% of the cases.
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The data showed that a number of
tenants could have asserted effective defenses based on their substandard
living conditions had they only been given the chance. The report
also stresses the need to educate the tenants through public service
organizations, in order to help them enforce their rights before
it’s too late.
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The report states that "for the system to work,
it must at least be possible for defendants to prevail, and where they
don't, it must treat them with the dignity and respect owed to those facing
one of life's most devastating losses: the loss of one's home."
In order to study the courts properly, the honors scholars
studied Illinois housing law, created a comprehensive form for
court observation, monitored hundreds of cases, compiled the data,
and produced the report to document their findings. The students
also worked with Adrianne Zahner, an honors scholar from the class
of 2002.
For more information on the report and the project, please
visit http://www.kentlaw.edu/news/releases/eviction_court.html.
In the News:
Chicago-Kent College of Law, "Chicago-Kent
and Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing study finds eviction
court inattentive to procedural requirements and tenant's dignity,"
news release, December 18, 2003. http://www.kentlaw.edu/news/releases/eviction_court.html
Lydialyle Gibson, "Eviction justice is a 'flick of the switch'; Study by Chicago-Kent
law students finds one-minute verdicts, lack of 'dignity' in city's housing court," Chicago
Journal, January 8, 2004.
LCBH Housing Briefs,
Spring 2004
John Biemer, "Eviction Courts too hurried, study
says," Chicago Tribune, December 18, 2003, Metro sec., 6.
Jerry Crimmins, "Eviction courts put under microscope," Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, December 19, 2003, 3.
Paul Bernstein, "Chicago's eviction courts need
increased support," Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, December
31, 2003, 5.
Ed Sacks, "Survey faults county courts' handling
of eviction cases," Chicago Sun-Times, January 25, 2004.
Chinta Strausberg, "Study reveals tenants get shafted
in Eviction Court," Chicago Daily Defender, December 19,
2003.
Ivette Sandoval, "Affordable housing crisis linked
to the number of evictions in Chicago," Lawndale News, December
25, 2003, 1.
Business brief, "Tenants don't get say before eviction," Chicago Daily Herald, January 3, 2004.
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