Supreme Court likely won’t decide on no-cash bail until April, court records show

PEORIA (25 News Now) - The elimination of cash bail in Illinois sits in the state Supreme Court’s hands, but a motion for filed briefings shows the matter won’t be settled until at least April.

In the continued court battle over the controversial piece of the SAFE-T Act, both parties agreed to speed up the decision process. The motion from Supreme Court documents details the schedule for the case:

• Record on appeal: January 20, 2023
  • both parties must present everything presented at the previous circuit court trial, including a transcript of the proceedings.
• State of Illinois’ opening brief: January 26, 2023
  • The state submits its written opening argument to the Supreme Court
• 65 State’s Attorney’s response brief: February 17, 2023
  • Plaintiffs submit their response to the State’s first brief
• State of Illinois’ response to State’s Attorney’s brief: February 27, 2023
• Oral arguments: March 2023

The oral arguments will be the meat of the appeal, where both parties stand before the Democrat-controlled court to make their case. Judges will ask questions, debate the law, and ultimately adjourn to consider their decision. Decisions are released twice a month, but there is no scheduled decision for this case yet.

The small portion of the 700-page criminal law was meant to go into effect at the beginning of this year, but a ruling by Kankakee County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Cunnington declared it unconstitutional. The State of Illinois filed an appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court soon after, but now that portion of the law remains on pause.

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