People v. Sanders

In February, 1967, the petitioners, Chester Lizak and Warren Swanson, members of the Defense of Prisoners Committee of the Chicago Bar Association, were appointed to represent Allen Sanders, an indigent defendant accused of the armed robbery and murder of a Chicago police officer. They did so for a period of approximately two years during which time his conviction in a three-week jury trial on both charges resulted in a lengthy prison sentence rather than the death penalty sought by the State. Petitioners in their requests to the circuit court of Cook County for attorneys’ fees, pursuant to…