Harrison Branch Court
555 West Harrison Street is primarily a court for domestic violence cases and is located between Clinton Street and Jefferson Street in Chicago. There are multiple court rooms at this location. When a defendant demands a jury trial in a case located at one of the other misdemeanor Chicago branch courts, that case is generally reassigned to be heard in Branch 46 at the Harrison location. In addition to such cases, cases involving domestic violence are heard in one of many branch courtrooms in this building. At Harrison Street Branch Court, you’ll need to look for street parking, although there are also local paid parking lots as well.
SEXNER’S PRO LEGAL TIP: If you are charged with a domestic battery or many other types of cases such as assault, criminal damage to property, telephone harassment, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct or sexual assault, you may have heard about the possibility of the victim “dropping the charges”. But can a victim actually drop charges in Chicago or elsewhere in Illinois?
The answer technically is “no”. Once the police have become involved in a case and charges have been brought against a defendant, it is the prosecutor, known as the State’s Attorney, who is in charge of the charges. The victim may have made the initial 911 call and may have signed the original complaint, but once the case enters the court system, that victim no longer really calls the shots. They may express their desire to “drop charges” to the prosecutor however, and depending on the court location, it is still certainly possible that the prosecutor will agree to dismiss the case or if not, at least go lighter on the defendant.
As a matter of fact, in some cases, the State’s Attorney’s office may actually arrest a victim if they fail to appear in court to testify against the defendant. Although this is rare, it does sometimes happen. But ultimately, most cases involving a specific victim will result in a dismissal if the victim never appears in court, although it is against the law to ever encourage or attempt to persuade a victim to skip court.
Map to Harrison Branch Court
Click here to see other courthouse locations.