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Bar News Sections

Illinois Bar Journal

  • May 16, 2022 | Practice News
    Propensities, for Evidence and Violence

    Even when reports are made and charges are filed, cases involving domestic violence are notoriously difficult to prosecute, states Charles Golaszewski in his May Illinois Bar Journal Article, “Propensities, for Evidence and Violence.” Given that domestic violence occurs between family and household members, most of the abuse takes place in the home, meaning that eyewitnesses to specific incidents are rare. Since most victims do not seek medical treatment following incidents of abuse, prosecutors commonly lack documentation of physical injuries to corroborate a victim’s allegations. In domestic violence prosecutions, corroboration in any form is hard to come by, which, in turn, makes it difficult for a fact finder to find a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 

  • May 10, 2022 | Practice News
    Test the Waters Doctrine Sinks

    Every litigant in a civil action in Illinois has a statutory right to seek a change of judge without cause. But a judicially created constraint commonly known as the “test the waters doctrine” often limited a party’s ability to invoke the right to change judges. Recently, the Illinois Supreme Court abolished the test the waters doctrine expanding a litigant’s statutory right to change judges without cause, writes Daniel J. Karrison in his May Illinois Bar Journal article, “Test the Waters Doctrine Sinks.”

  • May 2, 2022 | Practice News
    All About Sections

    Among the 44 sections ISBA members can join for networking, continuing legal education, advocating for or against legislation, and keeping up with the latest developments in their practice areas, it can still happen: A few members don’t quite feel at home in any of them. That’s why new ISBA sections emerge from time to time. In the past few years, ISBA members have launched the Food Law Section and the Privacy and Information Security Law Section, each of which gives the ISBA a gathering place for those immersed in these up-and-coming sectors.

  • April 25, 2022 | Practice News
    Not Under Control

    Understanding the concept of “coercive control” is essential when dealing with abuse survivors. Yet, Illinois currently is not among states that have incorporated “coercive control” into their domestic violence statutes. But that doesn’t mean the concept is invisible within Illinois’ legal framework.

  • April 18, 2022 | Practice News
    It’s Tough To Be Ford

    Numerous cases and tests determine whether a state can exercise jurisdiction over a defendant. The buzzwords include general personal jurisdiction, specific personal jurisdiction, minimum contacts, stream of commerce, and “arises from.” In a spring 2021 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court provided clarity to the “arises from” jurisprudence in a majority opinion authored by Justice Kagan. In his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “It’s Tough To Be Ford,” Grant A. Bosnich examines the Court’s ruling in this 2021 case (Ford Motor Company).

  • April 11, 2022 | Practice News
    A Broken Kettle of Fish

    The “absurdity” of pleading mutually exclusive alternative facts has long been a target for those looking to poke fun at attorneys for being dishonest or unscrupulous, writes Jake Crabbs in his April Illinois Bar Journal article, “A Broken Kettle of Fish.” The title of Crabbs’ article alludes to an old joke about a man sued for breaking a borrowed kettle: First, the man argued that he “never borrowed the kettle; second, that it was cracked when he borrowed it; and third, that it was sound when he carried it back.” Crabbs states that a lack of personal knowledge is the touchstone of proper alternative fact pleading, and goes on to explain why alternative fact pleading is a useful, and sometimes necessary, legal tactic.

  • April 4, 2022 | Practice News
    Growing Cause for Concern?

    Presenters at two ISBA CLE programs in March explored whether political divisiveness, social media, the pandemic, and Zoom fatigue have contributed to a decline in civility and professionalism in the legal sector during the past few years, undermining previous gains.

  • March 21, 2022 | Practice News
    A Constitutional Ship of Theseus

    Some scholars have predicted that the fall of the American experiment is inevitable and will expire like countless empires before it. However, using they mythical metaphor of Theseus’s ship may offer attorneys some hope, writes Christian Ketter in his March Illinois Bar Journal article, “A Constitutional Ship of Theseus.” 

  • March 14, 2022 | Practice News
    Free Speech and Public Education

    Changes to K-12 education during the COVID-19 pandemic have produced new concerns about free speech for students and teachers, notes Christine L. Self in her March Illinois Bar Journal article, “Free Speech and Public Education.” In Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., the U.S. Supreme Court extended First Amendment protections regarding off-campus social media activity but arguably left open the door to school district regulation of student and, perhaps, teacher speech related to computer-based learning.

  • March 7, 2022 | Practice News
    Guilty as Charged?

    It was 1972 and Jeffrey Hicken was a newly minted lawyer who landed a state government job reviewing cases of convicted and incarcerated felons and, where possible, write up their appeals. At $150 a week, it wasn’t much money, but he was thrilled. As to his win-loss ratio? That’s easy—he almost never won. One day a hefty parcel labeled People v. J.T. Darling appeared on his desk. It contained a trial transcript, documents, and reports about the burglary conviction of Mr. Darling, or “JT”, who had just begun a six to 12-year sentence at the Menard Correctional Center. JT was from Goofy Ridge, Illinois, where the crime took place. JT’s case would lead Hicken to learn one of his most formative lessons as an attorney.