A prosecutor with long record of winning death sentences has concluded that capital punishment is inherently arbitrary and should be abolished.
Commentary
In defense of how judges are chosen — and how they rule — in Illinois
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The voting is by secret ballot, and judges cast their ballots in a process that is independently administered by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts — an arm of the Illinois Supreme Court.
Commentary
Northwestern University sells out
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Rob Warden details the circumstances of Alstory Simon’s repeated confessions to murder and concludes: Northwestern University disgraced itself by settling Simon’s lawsuit against the school.
Commentary
Remembering an icon, and longing to make America great again
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George Leighton was a legal giant, appointed to the federal district court with bipartisan support. But could he even have been confirmed today?
Commentary
The silver lining in Rauner’s death penalty cloud
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While Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposal to restore the death penalty is a terrible idea for Illinois, the silver lining is that the proposal would be a step in the right direction for 31 states that still employ the practice.
Commentary
An American Epidemic: Crimes of Wrongful Liberty
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Tens of thousands of individuals have been victimized by perpetrators who would have been locked up had the criminal justice system worked properly, the authors’ research shows. The problem is not just the wrongful conviction, but also the wrongful liberty of the culprit.
Commentary
Past bar group evaluator: Judicial hopefuls get thorough review before rated
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Jonathan Lubin, past chairman of the evaluation committee for the Decalogue Society, offers a commentary describing the arduous process that groups go through to be fair and accurate in their assessments of each judicial candidate.
Commentary
Commentary: Illinois Supreme Court fills the big job vacancy that few noticed
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The Illinois Supreme Court has filled a key state post: The head appellate defender for indigents. It was a job opening that attracted little notice or attention; James Chadd, a deputy defender, has won the post.
Commentary
Big Illinois justice job about to be filled: Trouble is, few know of opening
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Illinois court officials are working to fill a key job: The chief state appellate lawyer. The agency is facing a large backlog, and potential budget crisis, a situation where innovative leadership is critical. Yet poor outreach has left the pool of applicants disturbingly tiny.
Commentary
Time for Kim Foxx to do the right thing
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Ronnie Carrasquillo has been locked in prison for decades, since being convicted of murdering a cop in 1976. As evidence mounts that the conviction, and sentence, were wrongly imposed by a corrupt judge, Rob Warden wonders: Where is the new state’s attorney?
Commentary
A fitting legacy for Dick Gregory and J. Edgar Hoover
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The death of Dick Gregory caused Rob Warden to recall how low J. Edgar Hoover would stoop.