The Illinois State Bar Association International and Immigration Law Section and President-elect Umberto S. Davi hosted a delegation from the Law Society of Hong Kong on Thursday, June 11 at the Chicago Office. The delegation held a seminar titled "The Asian Century: A Borderless Trade and Investment Environment in Hong Kong."

The Illinois State Bar Association will present several awards recognizing individuals for their commitment and service to the profession and their communities at an Awards Luncheon on Friday, June 19, at the organization’s 139th Annual Meeting in Lake Geneva, Wis. Award recipients are:

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced that 376 of the 384 Illinois associate judges who filed requests for reappointment to their office for a new four-year term have been retained. Having certified the results of more than 466 total ballots cast in Illinois’ twenty-four circuit courts. Director Tardy informed that each successfiul candidate received votes that tallied three-fifths or greater in favor of their reappointment. Five associate judges in the Third Judicial Circuit, one in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, one in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit and one in the Twentieth Judicial Circuit did not receive the requisite number of votes for reappointment. The new term of office for each reappointed associate judge will begin on July 1, 2015 and terminate on June 30, 2019.Pursuant to Illinois’ Constitution, associate judges serve a term of office of four years. The Illinois Constitution vests in the Supreme Court the authority to provide, by rule, for the associate judges appointment process in Illinois. With the adoption of Supreme Court Rule 39 in 1971, the quadrennial reappointment election of associate judges is accomplished through the casting of secret ballots by circuit court judges eligible to vote. The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts administers all associate judge elections on behalf of the Supreme Court. The 2015 quadrennial reappointment election is the eleventh reappointment election since the 1970 amendments to the judicial article of the Illinois Constitution.

Want to get text messages into evidence? Be sure to lay a good foundation, Mike Lied warns in the most recent issue of Trial Briefs, newsletter of the ISBA's civil practice section. He reviews People v. Watkins, where the third district held that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting text messages despite the defendant's objection."The only evidence presented by the state to authenticate the text messages was (1) the cell phone was found in the same house as Watkins, and (2) some of the messages referred to, or were directed at, a person" with the same first name as the defendant, Lied writes. "In the appeals court’s opinion that evidence was not sufficient to properly authenticate the text messages as being sent to Watkins."Also, "there were no cell phone records to indicate that the phone belonged to or had been used by Watkins or anyone else at the residence," Lied observes. "There was no eyewitness testimony to indicate that the phone belonged to or had been used by Watkins or that the messages were sent to Watkins."As for the police officer who found the phone, his testimony "was not sufficient to authenticate the text messages because [he] had no personal knowledge of the text messages and had no idea who was the owner or user of the cell phone," Lied writes. Read his article and find out more.