NACDL has been fighting in the Illinois courts since Feb. 2007 to
secure access to data and other materials related to the Chicago Police
Department’s controversial, taxpayer-funded report on lineups and
eyewitness procedures. The report sets forth highly controversial, and
widely criticized conclusions that current eyewitness procedures—those
that use traditional line ups where all suspects stand in a room
together—are more effective than new procedures used in other American
cities to reduce errors that can lead to wrongful convictions. Although
academic research has consistently found that sequential, double-blind
identification procedures substantially reduce false identifications,
the report claimed that in “real life” lineups, the traditional method
was more reliable. The Chicago, Evanston and Joliet police departments
participated in the study with the Illinois State Police ....more
Case Materials (chronological order)
NACDL's FOIA Requests*
Circuit Court Decision, No. 07 CH 3622, June 30, 2008
Circuit Court Decision, No. 07 MR 530, July 31, 2008
NACDL's Opening Appellate Brief
NACDL's Appellate Reply Brief
Brief of Amici Curiae Supporting NACDL
Appellate Court Reversal, February 25, 2010
"A Second Look at the Illinois Pilot Program: The Evanston Data," by Nancy Steblay, The Champion, June 2011.
*Evanston is the only municipality to agree to turn over their data