Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke announced today an application process for a vacancy in the 13th Judicial Subcircuit of Cook County.
The vacancy will be created by the retirement of Cook County Circuit Judge Thomas P. Fecarotta Jr., who served as a judge since 1998. His retirement took effect September 30, 2015.
A review of Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the criminal cases In re Q.P., People v. Fiveash and People v. Goossens.
By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender
An officer responded to a call of a vehicle burglary in progress. Upon arriving, he located the minor, Q.P., who matched the description of the burglar. The officer handcuffed the minor and put him in the back of the squad car. The minor gave a false name and date of birth. Upon discovery that the information was false, the minor admitted to the officer that he was attempting to prevent the police from discovering that he had an outstanding warrant.
The minor was charged with, and convicted of, obstructing justice based upon giving false information to the police with the intent to prevent his apprehension. The Supreme Court was called upon to determine the meaning of “apprehension.” The minor argued that he was already apprehended because he was in police custody at the time he provided the false information. The State argued that apprehension is specific to each criminal charge and thus, while the minor had been apprehended for the suspected vehicle burglary, he had not yet been apprehended on the outstanding warrant.
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the civil cases Stevens v. McGuireWoods, LLP, Lake Environmental Inc. v. Arnold, Seymour v. Collins, The Village of Vernon Hills v. Heelan and O’Toole v. The Chicago Zoological Society.
By Michael T. Reagan, Law Offices of Michael T. Reagan
The court’s unanimous opinion in Stevens v. McGuireWoods, LLP, is grounded on the established points that legal malpractice plaintiffs must be able to establish actual monetary loss as damages, that such a plaintiff cannot be in a better position by bringing suit against the attorney than if the underlying action had been prosecuted successfully, and that damages obtainable in a corporate derivative action belong to the corporation, and not to plaintiff shareholders.
The plaintiffs here are former minority shareholders in an LLC. They had retained the defendant law firm to bring claims against managers of the LLC as well as its majority shareholder. Those claims were brought in both individual and derivative capacities. Substituted counsel brought additional claims against the LLC’s corporate counsel. Those claims were dismissed for various reasons, including standing and statutes of limitations and repose. The plaintiff shareholders settled the underlying case, and relinquished all ownership interest in the LLC.
The Supreme Court of Illinois announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on September 21, 2015, during the September Term of Court. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.
Michael J. Tardy, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, announced Thursday that the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit judges voted to select Ronald A. Barch as an associate judge of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit.
Mr. Barch received his undergraduate degree in 1986 from Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois, and his Juris Doctor in 1992 from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Barch is currently affiliated with Cicero, France, Barch & Alexander PC in Rockford, IL.
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced a rule change that will allow associate judge applicants to submit their documents electronically.
The change does not require applicants to electronically submit their applications and supporting documents. The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts (AOIC) will continue to accept paper copies of applications.
“Allowing electronic applications for those seeking associate judgeships is the latest step in the Court’s continuing effort to utilize technology to make the entire judicial process more efficient and accessible," Chief Justice Rita B. Garman said.
"Recent applicants for vacant judgeships have told us that the current paper-based application system is cumbersome and costly, and this amendment to Rule 39 is responsive to their input. In addition, the electronic application process will benefit not only those individuals who apply for associate judgeships, but also the judges who review the applications.”
Prior to the amendment, those seeking to apply for appointment to an associate judge vacancy in Illinois had to go the Supreme Court's website, download a 16-page PDF application, fill in the blanks, sign it, print it and then mail or hand-deliver two signed, original applications to the AOIC.
Starting on Sept. 1, applicants will be able to electronically sign their applications and securely email them to the AOIC.
"By allowing an application to be electronically completed and emailed to the Administrative Office, it will streamline and improve the process for applicants; and in turn will greatly reduce the amount of paper used," AOIC Director Michael J. Tardy said.
Chief Justice Rita B. Garman and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Appellate Court Justice Mary K. Rochford as the new Chair of the Commission on Access to Justice.
Justice Rochford's appointment took effect July 6 and will terminate on June 15, 2017. She replaces Bloomington attorney Timothy W. Kelly, who resigned as Chair on July 6. Mr. Kelly will continue to serve on the Commission as a member.
The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee will hear comments July 22 at a public hearing in Chicago on several proposals, including one calling for changes to the rules that govern the legal profession and another seeking to use a word count instead of a page limit to regulate the length of appellate briefs.
The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the formation of a Committee on Equality, charged with promoting equality and fairness in all aspects of the administration of justice in Illinois Courts.
The Committee on Equality will consist of 15 judges and attorneys appointed by the Supreme Court. The membership of the Committee will reflect the diversity of the State of Illinois itself, based on age, race, gender, and background, as well as including members from urban, suburban, and rural parts of the state.
Chief Justice Rita B. Garman and the Illinois Supreme Court announced on Wednesday changes to a rule that will now require attorneys to register online each year.
Under Amended Supreme Court Rule 756, attorneys will also have to provide specific practice-related information to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC).
The amendments to Rule 756, which governs the annual attorney registration process, will make Illinois one of at least seven states that will require the online submission of registration data by next year. At least a handful of states already mandate lawyers to do so.
ARDC Administrator Jerome Larkin said while 81 percent of Illinois' approximate 95,000 attorneys registered online this year, the rule's mandate for online registration will allow the ARDC to collect practice-related information from all lawyers, not just those who provide it voluntarily.
Historically, lawyers have been required to provide an address and telephone number for inclusion on their public listing on the Master Roll. With the amendments, an attorney will also have to furnish to the ARDC a residential address; the name of all other states in which he or she is licensed to practice law; the type of entity at which the attorney practices; the number of lawyers working there; the areas of law the lawyer primarily practices; and whether that organization has created a written succession plan.
"The disclosure of practice-related demographic information will allow us [the ARDC] to better understand lawyers' practices," Mr. Larkin said. "We'll be able to target our educational and regulatory resources to lawyers and assess whether those approaches are working."