Close encounters with a Kosovo crisisBy Thomas W. SimonApril 2000"You have mail from Slobodan Milosovic." A year ago, I would have hardly noticed the name of the mail forwarded from the previous tenant of my apartment in Slovenia (not to be confused with Slavonia or Slovakia).
Dead letter of the lawBy James SternOctober 2000"We have been unable to perceive that the seizure of a man's private books and papers to be used in evidence against him is substantially different from compelling him to be a witness against himself."
From the chairBy Michael F. O’BrienOctober 2000The Human Rights Section Council should have some interesting meetings this year. In an attempt to convert our business meetings into more of a "retreat" format, we have invited some outside experts to liven up our meetings with discussions of the pros and cons of such diverse topics as school choice, the proposed "prosecutorial misconduct" legislation and the estate planning certification proposal under consideration by ISBA.
From the chairBy Arthur J. InmanApril 2000This issue features more by editor Pat Hughes on the efforts to reform death penalty litigation.
From the chairFebruary 2000Welcome to the February, 2000, issue of the Human Rights newsletter. Pat Hughes, our editor, does double duty in this issue with an article of his own on recent significant developments in criminal procedure in Illinois, especially including provisions for prosecution and defense of capital cases.
From the new chairBy Michael F. O’BrienJune 2000This section council's name, "Human Rights," as well as the title of its newsletter, "Constitutional Law and Liberty," reflect somewhat the inevitably diverse opinions of its members.
From the outgoing chairBy Arthur J. InmanJune 2000We joined the Criminal Justice Section Council in a program at the annual meeting dealing with privacy issues, especially but not exclusively as privacy is affected by technology.
More Illinois’ criminal justice system developmentsBy Patrick J. Hughes, Jr.June 2000The Task Force reported upon in the February issue of this newsletter and staffed by this Association's Director of Legislative Affairs, James Covington, has issued its findings and recommendations.
More Illinois death penalty developmentsBy Patrick J. Hughes, Jr.April 2000The February issue of this newsletter reported on recent developments in our State's criminal justice system including two significant death penalty case events: (1) As of January 1, 2000, the creation of the Illinois Capitol Litigation Trust Fund to finance the prosecution and defense of capital trials; and (2) the appointment by the Illinois Supreme Court of a Special Committee on Capital Cases composed of seventeen Illinois judges to study the Illinois death penalty process and that Committee's report and recommendations which are summarized in the February article.
Online access to public recordsBy Michael F. O’BrienOctober 2000Despite the seeming inevitability of Internet access to virtually all types of information, very few local governments have yet to establish online access to their public record databases (e.g., court files, assessment and real estate records).
Recent United States Supreme Court decisionsBy Mary Lee LeahyFebruary 2000I remember where I was--I was getting out of my car to go into the Illinois Supreme Court Library--when I heard on the radio that the court had decided Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44 (1996).
Three developments in Illinois’ criminal justice systemBy Patrick J. Hughes, Jr.February 2000Although confident that most of you already are informed about them, as one who has long worked in the Illinois Criminal Justice System (on the defense side), I thought some recapitulation of significant events effecting that system would be useful.
A treaty against children’s harmsBy Thomas W. SimonJune 2000The Illinois State Bar Association's (ISBA) Section Council on Human Rights took a stand in opposition to the United Nation's International Convention on the Rights of the Child long before I became a member of the Committee