Assembly

The ISBA Assembly unanimously approved a resolution in support of the celebration of the 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta on Saturday, Dec. 13 during the Joint Midyear Meeting in Chicago. The resolution was brought forth by ISBA Governor Stephen M. Komie.

The text of the resolution is available here and below:

ASSEMBLY

ILLINOIS STATE BAR ASSOCIATION

MIDYEAR MEETING

A Resolution in Support of Celebrating the 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta

WHEREAS, Magna Carta (Latin; "Great Charter"), also called Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, is an Angevin charter originally issued in Latin;

WHEREAS, on June 15, 1215, at Runnymede on the banks of the River Thames near Windsor, England, King John affixed his seal to Magna Carta. King John confronted by 40 rebellious barons at the point of a sword consented to their demands in order to avert civil war. However, just 10 weeks later, Pope Innocent III nullified the agreement, and England plunged into internal war. Although Magna Carta failed to resolve the conflict between King John and his barons, it was reissued several times after his death;

The Assembly meeting agenda has been posted at http://www.isba.org/leadership/assembly/minutes. This page is password protected and available only to ISBA members. The Assembly will next meet on Saturday, June 21 at the 138th Annual Meeting at the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva, Wis.

The Illinois State Bar Association Assembly, the organization's 203-person policy making body, approved several reports during the 137th Annual Meeting in Lake Geneva, Wis.

The Assembly unanimously approved the 53-page report and recommendations of the Special Committee on the Impact of Law School Debt on the Delivery of Legal Services. The report was supported with research and testimony from statewide hearings that call for dramatic changes in the way law schools deliver education. The Assembly also moved to adopt the report as coming from ISBA and not just the special committee and sending the report to the deans of all Illinois law schools, newspapers editors and Supreme Court justices. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) has written to the ABA Task Force on the Future of Legal Education recommending the findings in the ISBA report.

The Assembly also approved the report and recommendations of the Special Committee on Fair and Impartial Courts.

ISBA Past President John Locallo presented the report and recommendations of the Special Committee on Collaborative Law, which opposed legislative passage of the "Uniform Collaborative Law Act" as a violation of separation of powers. The Assembly approved that report as well.

The ISBA Assembly on Saturday adopted a proposed rule governing recusal of judges in cases in which a party has made a campaign contribution to the judge. The Assembly meeting capped off the annual Midyear Meeting held at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers.

The ISBA will recommend the proposed rule to the Illinois Supreme Court as an amendment to the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct. The proposed rule provides that a judge shall disqualify himself or herself when, after considering all relevant circumstances, there exists a probability of bias. Relevant circumstances include items such as the amount of campaign support, both monetary and non-monetary, and the timing and impact of the support.

The Assembly also voted to support the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act pending in the Illinois state Legislature. The bill provides same-sex and different-sex couples and their children equal access to the status, benefits, protections, rights, and responsibilities of civil marriage.

The Assembly also endorsed Illinois legislation that would allow patients who suffer from a debilitating medical condition to use and possess small amounts of marijuana if certified to do so by their regular physician.