Illinois Supreme Court Upholds Detention Ruling Under SAFE-T Act

SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Supreme Court has affirmed rulings by circuit and appellate courts in a case involving the continued detention of a defendant under the Pretrial Fairness Act portion of the SAFE-T Act. In People of the State of Illinois v. Jesse Post, a man charged with sexually assaulting children challenged a circuit court’s decision to keep him detained after he said his circumstances had changed. The state supreme court found the appropriate standard of review to be the manifest weight of the evidence and said the trial court must assess the unique, factual question of whether the defendant is a real and present threat to the community based on the specific facts of the case or to prevent his willful flight from prosecution.