Section Newsletters

Articles From Thomas A. Bruno

Elmer Gertz Award By Thomas A. Bruno Human and Civil Rights, October 2013 Learn more about this prestigious ISBA award and its past winners.
From the Chair By Thomas A. Bruno Human and Civil Rights, March 2013 A message from Section Chair Tom Bruno.
1 comment (Most recent April 25, 2013)
From the Chair By Thomas A. Bruno Human and Civil Rights, November 2012 A message from Human Rights Section Chair Tom Bruno.
Chair’s column By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, May 2011 A message from Bench & Bar Section Chair Thomas Bruno.
Chair’s column By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, March 2011 A message from Bench & Bar Chair Thomas Bruno.
Chair’s column By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, December 2010 An introduction from Section Chair Thomas Bruno.
Chair’s column By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, November 2010 Chair Thomas Bruno shows there are strategic advantages to being civil in the courtroom.
Chair’s column By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, August 2010 A brief discussion of Sen. Robert C. Byrd's career and its relevance to the Bench & Bar Section.
Expungement. What is it good for? (with apologies to Edwin Starr) By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, June 2010 Can a record ever really be expunged when material posted online can be searched in perpetuity?
1 comment (Most recent June 16, 2010)
Expungement. What is it good for? (with apologies to Edwin Starr) By Thomas A. Bruno Human and Civil Rights, May 2010 Can a record ever really be expunged when material posted online can be searched in perpetuity?
Lawn Rangers Inaugural Report By Thomas A. Bruno Human and Civil Rights, February 2009 A lighthearted story from author Thomas Bruno.
Mental retardation: Mitigating or aggravating factor in sentencing? By Thomas A. Bruno Human and Civil Rights, January 2009 The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled on the proper application of mental retardation as a mitigating or aggravating factor in sentencing in People v. Heider, Docket No. 103859, decided May, 2008.
Considering retardation in sentencing By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, December 2008 The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled on the proper application of mental retardation as a mitigating or aggravating factor in sentencing in People v. Heider, 231 Ill.2d 1, ___ N.E.2d ____, 2008 WL 2131584, (May 22, 2008).   
Pre-conviction DNA gathering By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, June 2008 The FBI has proposed taking tissue samples of all persons arrested by the FBI for submission to the FBI’s DNA database. Privacy rights advocates will surely test the validity of this policy in court.
Pre-conviction DNA gathering By Thomas A. Bruno Human and Civil Rights, June 2008 The FBI has proposed taking tissue samples of all persons arrested by the FBI for submission to the FBI’s DNA database.
Crawford v. Washington—Confrontation clause By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, August 2007 The Illinois Supreme Court has decided a case on the Confrontation Clause that takes us back to the days of Sir Walter Raleigh.
“The condemnation of Sir Walter Raleigh” or “confronting confrontation” By Thomas A. Bruno Human and Civil Rights, June 2007 The Illinois Supreme Court has decided a case on the Confrontation Clause that takes us back to the days of Sir Walter Raleigh.
Practice Alert: When advising a client that a plea for supervision is not a conviction. . . Think again!!! By Thomas A. Bruno General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm, February 2007 When Lou Grant interviewed Mary Richards for a job at WJM-TV, he asked her about her religion.
What you may not ask By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, October 2006 Caselaw to consider when interviewing prospective employees.
Advising a client that a plea for supervision is not a conviction? Think again!!! By Thomas A. Bruno Human and Civil Rights, September 2006 When Lou Grant interviewed Mary Richards for a job at WJM-TV, he asked her about her religion. Said Mary: “You’re not allowed to ask that when someone’s applying for a job.
Case notes By Douglas A. Darch & Thomas A. Bruno Human and Civil Rights, December 2005 Recent cases of interest.
Closing a criminal hearing By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, December 2005 In People v. LaGrone, the Fourth District Appellate Court reviewed the trial’s court’s decision to close the hearings on motions in limine and to suppress evidence in a case wherein Amanda Hamm and her boyfriend, Maurice LaGrone are charged with the drowning murder of Amanda’s children.
Not a happy Halloween for the City of Peoria By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, December 2005 R & A Productions Inc. v. City of Peoria, Illinois, Case No. 03-1057 filed October 31, 2005 On Halloween this year Judge John A. Gorman, United States Magistrate Judge for the Central District of Illinois, sitting in Peoria, ruled in favor of Mulligan’s, a Peoria bar, on a summary judgment motion regarding whether Mulligan’s could hold “wet T-shirt” competitions despite Ordinance 3-14, which prohibited such entertainment in non-licensed venues.
“Post-conviction” relief for ineffective assistance in sexually dangerous cases By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, May 2005 In People v. Lawton, the Illinois Supreme Court has decided a case that directly affects the rights of persons found to be sexually dangerous under the Sexually Dangerous Persons Act, and which indirectly affects the rights of persons found to be sexually violent under the similar Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act.
Case comment By Thomas A. Bruno Human and Civil Rights, December 2004 The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled (The City of Urbana, Appellee, v. Andrew N.B., Appellant.-The City of Champaign, Appellee, v. Montrell D.H., Appellant. ; Docket Nos 95408, 95803; Opinion filed June 24, 2004) that it is a misuse of the contempt power of the court to impose a sentence of incarceration on minor defendants who fail to meet the terms of their court supervision sentences in municipal ordinance violation cases.
Supreme Court clarifies contempt for violating supervision in ordinance violation cases By Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, October 2004 It is a misuse of the contempt power of the court to impose a sentence of incarceration on minor defendants who fail to meet the terms of their court supervision sentences in municipal ordinance violation cases.
Case summaries By Alfred M. Swanson & Thomas A. Bruno Bench and Bar, January 2003 The issue involved both the interpretation and constitutionality of section 2-1117 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-1117) that modified the common law rule of joint and several liability.

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