The Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct hasn’t been overhauled since 1993. The proposed changes include guidelines on how judges can use social media and other technology, which didn’t exist when it was last updated.
The state Supreme Court is delaying the reactivation of speedy trial rights until October in order to give chief circuit judges statewide “at least 90 days to prepare,” according to a press release.
At the start of the pandemic, the Illinois Supreme Court suspended defendants’ constitutional rights to a speedy trial as courtrooms closed throughout the state. But even as pandemic restrictions are lifted across the board, the right to a speedy trial remains on hold.
Injustice Watch and the Chicago Reader examined the origins of Illinois’s HIV transmission law, how Cook County prosecutors have leveraged it, and its impacts on people charged. The investigation is part of The Circuit, a courts data project from Injustice Watch, the BGA, and DataMade.
The Judicial Quality Act passed out of a state Senate committee Wednesday, despite opposition from the Illinois Supreme Court.
A retired appellate judge said that a discussion that Illinois Supreme Court candidate Shelly Harris had with her about a pending case involving his nephew has led to a complaint to the state agency that investigates judicial misconduct.
The state Supreme Court is urged to reform the bail system statewide, ensuring that defendants would not be held in custody awaiting trial only because of their poverty.
The Illinois Supreme Court will consider whether a sentence of 50 years without parole for a 16-year-old violates the state and federal constitutions. Courts nationwide and in Illinois have struggled with where to draw the line for crimes committed by juveniles.
Illinois Supreme Court justice since 1994, Charles Freeman announced he is stepping down. P. Scott Neville Jr. will replace him. Freeman was the first African American to serve on the state high court; Neville will be the second.
Attorneys for convicted murderer say that prosecutor Michael Gerber engaged in “egregious conduct” that led to wrongful conviction based on thin evidence in Wheeling murder case. Gerber, now serving as judge by appointment, is a candidate for a full term on the bench in March.