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Yet another reason why the legislature should rein in municipal ordinance violation trials

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Illinois

* Why this ever made it to trial is completely beyond me. So ridiculous. From Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards at ProPublica…

Earlier this week, Amara Harris had one last chance to take a plea deal. For $100, she could have avoided a trial, the testimony of her former high school classmates and deans, and the stress of not knowing whether a jury would believe her when she said she had mistakenly picked up a classmate’s AirPods — not stolen them. It would’ve been over.

Instead, as she had for more than 3 ½ years, she chose to fight. Like other families and students across Illinois who have been ticketed by police for alleged behavior at school, Harris and her mother saw the system as unfair and capricious.

But in a rare move, Harris, now 20, went to trial, hoping to clear her name — even as she knew that municipal tickets are hard to beat because the burden of proof is so low.

On Wednesday, she was cleared of violating Naperville’s ordinance against theft when a six-person jury decided that the city did not prove she’d knowingly taken a classmate’s AirPods.

“I’m glad we were able to see it through,” Harris said Thursday morning before the verdict. She noted her story never changed.

The verdict capped an extraordinarily unusual, drawn-out saga over a controversial municipal ticket issued to Harris when she was a junior at Naperville North High School, in DuPage County, west of Chicago.

The case was decided after a three-day trial heard by a jury of two young women, including an 18-year-old college student, and four men, three of whom are fathers of teenagers. A trial over an ordinance violation, which carries a fine only and no jail time, is so rare that the judge and lawyers had to repeatedly tweak instructions and other procedures to adapt to this type of case. […]

The principal said while she initially suggested that Harris get a one-day in-school suspension for the AirPod incident, the suspension was never issued. […]

Minutes before jury selection began on the first day of trial Tuesday, Prosecutor Joseph Solon Jr. offered Harris a deal to settle the case with no fine and a $100 court fee — an offer he said he had made several times before. Harris would have had to agree that she could be found liable by a jury, something she said she could not accept since she says she accidentally picked up the AirPods and returned them to the rightful owner when school officials determined they weren’t hers.

“We offered to waive the fine because the case dragged on so long,” Solon told reporters outside the courtroom.

The testimony from nine witnesses, over two days, largely centered around two questions: How did Harris come into possession of AirPods that weren’t hers and when did she realize they weren’t hers? […]

A series of other city witnesses acknowledged a lack of direct evidence that Harris knowingly took AirPods that weren’t hers.

Unabia, when pressed on how she could be sure Harris had stolen the device, said there wasn’t any direct evidence.

“So, you made an assumption?” Yeary asked.

“Yeah, I guess,” Unabia said. […]

Even the officer who issued the ticket, Juan Leon, testified he had no direct evidence that Harris had sought to steal the AirPods instead of picking them up in error. […]

A Naperville spokesperson said the city hasn’t spent extra money on legal fees for the case because it’s being handled by a city prosecutor, though he has spent many days in court handling it. A school district spokesperson would not immediately say whether the district has incurred costs, but multiple attorneys representing it were at the trial this week.

Not to mention all the money Ms. Harris likely had to spend while defending herself.

* By the way…

She graduated early from high school, earned an associate’s degree at a local community college and next week will move back to Atlanta to begin her senior year at Spelman College.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 12:56 pm

Comments

you want a criminal charge or do you want a city charge. Your choice.

Comment by smile politely Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 1:22 pm
Congratulations to Ms. Harris. The pursuit of this by the school, the prosecutor and the father of the other girl is disgusting. What a gaggle of vindictive losers.

Comment by froganon Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 1:24 pm
This prosecution was an incredible waste of resources for Naperville and a waste of time for all involved.

It’s almost as if the city wanted to punish the defendant for not caving in to their demand that she plead guilty.

Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 1:30 pm
I’m so glad I decided not to pursue my original pre-law school goal of becoming a prosecutor. I know I would have ended up butting heads with some very stupid superiors and gotten politely but firmly asked to leave.

These stories are so stupid to me. What were they hoping to accomplish besides trying to look tough going after a high school girl? It looks more like they were trying to punish her for having the gall to stand up to them.

Comment by Homebody Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 1:42 pm
meanwhile, who has HER AirPods? seems reasonable that she thought those were hers, where she left them. maybe authorities should look for the ones she lost/had stolen from her.

Comment by Amalia Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 1:44 pm
Good for her. Fight the power. A whole bunch of “adults” who should be ashamed of themselves for this spectacle.

Comment by Michelle Flaherty Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 1:49 pm
so many of these types of things would have been resolved in the school with no consequences for anyone except for an apology. This is a great example of how to change a mole hill into a mountain.

Comment by illinifan Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:06 pm
First, Congratulations to Ms. Harris for getting admitted to Spelman College - a school that recently celebrated its 142 year anniversary and has had so many graduates over those years that have had such positive impacts on our nation.
Second, we owe you a big thank you for being a good example for other young people in standing up for yourself.(Being on the right side of justice and winning had to be a lot of fun.)
Of course, this whole case was a ridiculous waste of time and money by a system designed by bureaucrats to give jobs to friends and get in the pocketbooks of children. The whole Administrative Law system has been a swamp for abusive government conduct for decades. The standard of proof needs to be reconstructed and the cases should be heard by “real Judges” and not unelected state or local governments friends of friends.

Comment by Back to the Future Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:06 pm
Let’s be honest–would Naperville have kept this going this far if this was a White kid?

Comment by Google Is Your Friend Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:10 pm
I’d like to believe cooler, more rational heads would have prevailed at my school.
What typically happens is my principal grouses to the entire staff that we can’t enforce policies because of the SAFE-T Act.

Comment by Proud Papa Bear Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:10 pm
now multiply this in every small town in the state.

Municipal tickets designed to mirror state laws, but issued under an ordinance violation is as bad faith of an action a city could take in even creating the ordinance in question. Much less actually writing a ticket under it.

This young woman deserves credit for not backing down. It won’t take very many people at all to do the same to completely clog up local courts with this waste the municipalities have inflicted on themselves.

I’d love to see this inspire a waterfall of similar challenges. Because the cities aren’t going to willingly change this money train they’ve created until they are forced to.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:10 pm
===or do you want a city charge. Your choice. ===

That’s basically just government blackmail.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:11 pm
==you want a criminal charge or do you want a city charge. Your choice.==

The third choice is not to involve the police at all. schools have, historically, dealt with these issues internally as an opportunity for learning and growth. The real question you should ask is why the police were called over something so minor.

Not discussed was the racial component. Black children (yes, these are all children) are more likely to get caught up in this type of situation than other students. https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/6/23/21299743/police-schools-research

Kudos to this child, now a young adult, for holding her ground. Shame on the school and city for the whole thing.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:11 pm
There’s ridiculous “muni ordinance court”

Then there’s “Naperville Karen’s Grievances” court

Knowing that, it’s on Naperville brand AND also ridiculous to the overall.

Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:12 pm
“if this was a White kid?”

Well, the school and police did badger that white kid with false accusations without even allowing his parent to be present, until he went home and killed himself.

His name was Corey Walgren.

So. Yeah, they would. And they have.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:13 pm
The prosecution was I’ll advised BUT please why do some people make everything about racism.

Comment by Sue Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:19 pm
===why do some people make everything about racism===

Good question. Ask it to the Naperville authorities.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:20 pm
==why do some people make everything about racism. ==

“Some people”? Who are the “some people” you are asking about? Maybe “some people” are looking at the data and the discrepancies are obvious.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 2:44 pm
i do believe it was a Naperville school that dragged in a boy and accused him of sexual assault had a cop there. Kid left school and committed suicide. Of course the kid was totally innocent and school was trying to scare him into confessing. And not that it makes a difference kid was white. Sounds more like school is trying to say who is boss

Comment by DuPage Saint Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 3:24 pm
- Well, the school and police did badger that white kid with false accusations -

False accusations? He admitted what he did.

I’m not defending the school, but those cases are apples and oranges.

Comment by Excitable Boy Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 3:24 pm
Criminal justice reform via making some otherwise criminal offenses simple ordinance violations sounds good on paper, but can sometimes result in municipalities seeing it as an easy additional revenue stream, abusing the system, and its lower burden of proof, to railroad people into “just paying the fine.”

And it’s far from being reined in. Just the opposite: they’ve been given expanded authority the last few years to set up these kangaroo courts.

Comment by fs Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 3:39 pm
==i do believe it was a Naperville school that dragged in a boy and accused him of sexual assault had a cop there==

The exact same school, 2 years in-between the two cases

Comment by jimbo Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 3:48 pm
“He admitted what he did.”

Except the Naperville police were threatening to charge him with a crime, which wasn’t contained anywhere in what he did.

There was never any video, all that was recorded was audio.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 3:50 pm
==False accusations? He admitted what he did.
I’m not defending the school, but those cases are apples and oranges==

Are they? He was threatened with being put on a sex offender list for the rest of his life.

This for an AUDIO recording of what the other participant agreed was a consensual sex act between two 16 year olds. He didn’t even share the recording.

I’m not a lawyer, but a quick Google search returns 720 ILCS 5/26-4 which to my reading only covers video recording.

Comment by jimbo Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 4:01 pm
Tell me again why we have police officers stationed in high schools?

Comment by Soccermom Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 4:25 pm
I’m glad that Amara Harris prevailed, and that the state legislature is working to eliminate ticketing in schools. I also hope the next project is to look at the administrative hearing system on its own. My town can’t be the only one with high penalties, yet issues citations primarily in the neighborhoods where residents can’t pay them.

Comment by yinn Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 5:08 pm
=Tell me again why we have police officers stationed in high schools?=

Call your local high school and ask. They will tell you.

We do not have an SRO. I think it is overkill for our small rural district. But parents are pretty skittish today (not saying they shouldn’t be) and are pushing pretty hard for SRO’s in some places.

Done correctly, a school resource officer can do a lot of good.That requires training and an SRO that sees themself as a helper, not an authoritarian member of law enforcement.

Ask Dixon High School how they feel about their SRO.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 5:33 pm
I’d like to see her disclose how much she had to pay in legal fees. Those of you applauding her for doing this might have to rethink your stance after finding out what it cost her. That’s one of the glaring problems with our legal system: even if you are falsely accused of something, you might accrue hundreds of thousands in lawyer costs just to defend yourself.

Comment by filmmaker prof Thursday, Aug 10, 23 @ 5:34 pm