Announcement, Press Release |
“The Office of the Chief Judge has completed a review of the circumstances surrounding Lacramioara Beldie’s tragic death on Nov. 19. Our office has gathered transcripts and court records from the civil and criminal proceedings against the accused, Constantin Beldie. The decision by the Court not to detain Beldie on Oct. 9 followed an incomplete presentation by the State’s Attorney and a presentation by the defense attorney to which the state did not object, that Beldie had no prior history of domestic violence, nor of violating the terms of any civil no contact order.
Under the Pretrial Fairness Act, all defendants are presumed eligible for pretrial release unless the State presents clear and convincing evidence that the defendant should be detained. The State must prove that the defendant poses a real and present threat to the safety of a person (or is a flight risk) and that no conditions of release can mitigate that threat (725 ILCS 5/110-6.1(e)). When determining whether a defendant poses a threat to the safety of a person, the court may rely on multiple factors, including any evidence of prior criminal history or any evidence that has a reasonable bearing on the defendant’s propensity or reputation for violent, abusive, or assaultive behavior, or lack of such behavior (725 ILCS 5/110-6.1(g)(9)). In this case, the Court held that the State did not meet its statutory burden by proving clear and convincing evidence that there was a threat to the safety of a person that could not be mitigated, and ordered Beldie fitted for a GPS monitoring device.
A review of the court’s policies and procedures has revealed an apparent failure, by a GPS technician, to follow Adult Probation Department policy, in that a violation of an exclusion zone on Oct. 10 was not brought to the Court’s attention. The technician was temporarily suspended without pay pending completion of the review and resigned during the disciplinary process.
This tragedy has also revealed the need for increased collaboration to improve protection for survivors of domestic violence. First, the Court will collaborate with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to ensure judges are presented with complete information about the criminal history of and civil actions against a defendant. Under Illinois law, the Court may use a risk assessment tool to aid its determination of appropriate conditions of release, but it is not mandatory (725 ILCS 5/110-5(b). Following the recommendations of a statewide Domestic Violence Pretrial Practices Working Group, the Court will explore implementation of a risk assessment tool that includes an interview with the survivor, which will require further collaboration with the State’s Attorney’s Office. The risk assessment tool currently in use requires an interview with the defendant. The Public Defender and the Sheriff’s offices must provide the Court’s Pretrial Services officers access to the defendant for the interview. Finally, the Court will collaborate with the Sheriff’s Office to ensure efficient and expeditious service of protective orders on respondents. The Court will update policies to require that defendants potentially violating GPS monitoring conditions must appear in court the following day.
The Adult Probation Department’s Home Confinement Unit, which administers GPS monitoring, is significantly understaffed. The Court seeks to implement best practices for pretrial monitoring that include electronic monitoring, and that uphold the Court’s responsibility to balance both the rights of accused and the protection of individual victims and the community. As previously stated, before the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the Court has calculated that this consolidated system of best practices will require the hiring of 153 additional staff and a budget increase of $23.9 million.
Effective Tuesday, Jan. 21, Judge Thomas E. Nowinski will be transferred from the Domestic Violence Division, County Department to the Third Municipal District, Municipal Department. There he will hear misdemeanor and traffic-related cases. The transfer is being made at the request of Judge Nowinski and his Presiding Judge, Judith Rice, who oversees the Domestic Violence Division.”
###
Follow the Circuit Court on X @cookcntycourt