2012 Articles

CASA: Helping the courts and neglected minors By Stefanie L. Cooley September 2012 The Court Appointed Special Advocates program promotes stability for foster care children and limits the costs associated with the length of time a child spends in foster care as well as state-funded legal counsel through increased communication between the children and the courts.

CASA: Stability saves By Stefanie L. Cooley December 2012 CASA is an organization of volunteer advocates appointed by the court to advocate for an individual child in the foster care system. Appointment of a CASA volunteer not only provides more comfort and a feeling of empowerment in each foster child by giving them a voice, it also decreases the length of time a child stays in foster care.

Case law summaries By Danya A. Grunyk, Hilary A. Sefton, Victoria C. Kelly, & Leah D. Setzen June 2012 Recent cases of interest to child law attorneys.

Case law under the amended Illinois Minor Guardianship Act By Mark Simons September 2012 Expanding and clarifying who has standing to contest under the revised Minor Guardianship Act is an important step in this topic’s evolving case law.

Caselaw summaries By Victoria C. Kelly, Hilary A. Sefton, Leah D. Setzen, & Doreen R. Stec December 2012 Recent cases of interest to Child Law practitioners.

Chair’s column By Karen Bowes September 2012 A message from Section Chair Karen Bowes.

Child custody and military families By Catherine M. Ryan September 2012 Caring, competent parents should not lose custody of their children because they answer the call of their country.

Five tips for handling a child custody appeal By David House June 2012 Of course there are more than five steps to a good appeal, but if you remember these tips, you should be able to survive your first appeal.

The gravity of adhering to visitation rules in foster placements in Illinois By Emily Livingston June 2012 These otherwise positive arrangements can turn detrimental when participants begin to veer from the rules of visitation. The diligent Juvenile Court lawyer should be aware of the life-changing consequences when parents and foster caregivers do not abide by visitation rules in foster placements.

Home alone: Legal considerations in the decision to leave children unattended By Amy A. Schellekens December 2012 Parents should educate themselves on the legal parameters and guidelines regarding leaving children alone, but ultimately the decision should be based on that specific child’s needs and capabilities.

In re Austin M. By David House September 2012 The case of In re Austin M. is an extremely important decision regarding representation of juveniles in delinquency petitions and should be read with careful attention by all who practice in the this area.

In re Jonathon C.B.: Shackling in juvenile court, no right to jury trial By Steve Baker February 2012 A review of the recent case of In re Jonathon C.B. and its ramifications.

Letter from the Chair By Karen Bowes December 2012 A note from Child Law Section Chair Karen Bowes.

My client said what? Motion to suppress statement practice in juvenile delinquency proceedings By Hon. Harry E. Clem February 2012 What is the likelihood that a motion to suppress a minor’s confession in a juvenile delinquency proceeding will be granted? It depends upon the circumstances.

Seeking employment: A program designed to assist youthful offenders By Paul B. Novak February 2012 The newly created “Youthful Offender Job Readiness Program” is designed to assist youthful offenders involved in the juvenile justice system to gain employment with the goal to keep them out of the criminal justice system.

Supreme Court issues ruling potentially restricting use of student admissions to police liaison officers By Matthew Cohen & Naoshi Cummings February 2012 A recent Supreme Court decision, J.D.B. v. North Carolina, raises new questions about the ability of police officers, including school police liaisons/school resource officers, to use in-school interrogations as evidence in court unless they have given the student Miranda warnings.

Ten things to know before handling a juvenile delinquency case By Hon. Robert J. Anderson June 2012 Lawyers who are unfamiliar with juvenile law are often surprised by things that happen in Juvenile Court. You should not be one of those lawyers.

Upcoming Child Law CLE June 2012 Sign up for this all-day seminar taking place on September 28th.