Disciplining public-sector employees for speech that is insubordinate, inappropriate, or simply unwanted gives rise to complex legal issues. Here's a framework for analyzing them.
The lawsuit alleges that the mayor and other officials conspired to violate the First and Fourth Amendment rights of accountholder and tweeter Jon Daniel.
The Illinois Supreme Court rules that police can search an arrestee's luggage after he was handcuffed on a civil warrant for failure to pay child support.
After Salinas, non-custodial suspects must expressly invoke the right to remain silent, or silence can be held against them. But in Illinois, state law provides some evidentiary protection.
Under Illinois law, income from a trust created by an Illinois resident is taxable even if the trust is not otherwise connected to Illinois. But is the state tax constitutionally infirm?
When does the Sixth Amendment require prosecutors to produce a live witness rather than an out-of-court statement against a defendant? Here's a look at the latest developments.
Unlike an earlier decision this term that allowed dog-sniff evidence from a traffic stop, Jardines holds that the dog-sniff search of a front porch requires a warrant.
In Harris, the U.S. Supreme Court held that dog-sniff evidence can be admissible even if prosecutors do not lay a detailed foundation that the dog is well trained.
According to a lawyer monitoring such cases, local judges are unlikely to stop enforcing the ban until this summer, the state's deadline for enacting a law that passes Second Amendment muster.
A proposed constitutional amendment that would have made crime victims party to the defendant’s trial undermined the constitutional presumption of innocence, the ISBA and other opponents, including prosecutors, argued.
Defendants being prosecuted under the Illinois Eavesdropping Act for recording police and other public officials are fighting back, thus far with mixed success.
The U.S. Supreme Court holds that a subject's youth matters when determining whether a Miranda warning is required - a conclusion the Illinois Supreme Court came to years ago.
There's a trend in defamation litigation to use pre-suit discovery procedures to uncover the identities of anonymous online commenters. The author considers the implications.
Illinois's right of publicity lets people limit the appropriation of their likeness, a power restricted by the First Amendment. Where to draw the line? Here's what courts are doing.
Judicial elections? Merit selection? While the decades-old debate continues, a former judge proposes a constitutional amendment that represents a third way.
In response to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Illinois Supreme Court issued decisions that give police more freedom to search and question vehicle occupants at traffic stops.
The authors propose a constitutional amendment allowing replacement of Illinois Supreme Court justices when recusal makes rendering a decision impossible.
The Illinois Supreme Court rules that the statute requiring judges to retire at age 75 is unconstitutional and says mandating retirement for judges might require constitutional amendment.
The supreme court held that registration is not punishment and that juveniles can be required to register even though they aren’t entitled to a jury trial on the charges.
