Retired judge Sheila M. Murphy of Chicago, a member of the ISBA Board of Governors, will speak this month during a public forum on the death penalty that includes remarks by a former prisoner who might have been executed wrongfully.
The presentation, "How Did 13 Innocent Men End up on Death Row in Illinois?" will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, in the auditorium of the Pullman Bank, 6100 N. Northwest Highway, Chicago.
Sponsors include the Northwest Action Council and the Illinois Death Penalty Education Project, on which Murphy serves. She will provide a judge's perspective on "Does the Death Penalty Glorify Evil?"
Gary Gauger, who served time on Death Row for a crime he did not commit, will give a first-person account of how it feels to face capital punishment despite being innocent.
Edwin Colfax, executive director of the Death Penalty Education Project, will discuss "The Execution Moratorium: Introduction and Background on Illinois' Troubled Justice System."
Rob Warden, executive director of the Center for Wrongful Convictions at the Northwestern University School of Law, will review "Eyewitness Error, False Convictions and Jailhouse Snitches: How the System Convicted the Wrong People."
Former state representative Coy Pugh will conclude the program with "What Now? Abolition and Reform Bills in the General Assembly."
The forum is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided. Call (773) 774-1779 for more information.
Sexual orientation committee studies Mata case
The ISBA Special Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, chaired by ISBA Assembly member Andrea Schleifer of Chicago, has met twice to discuss numerous issues that could be the focus of its efforts.
Many areas of law that are involved should be of concern to all lawyers, not just gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered persons and those who represent those individuals.
Among items discussed recently is the pending Illinois Supreme Court case of People v. Bernina Mata, No. 89214.
Argued late last year, the case involves a defendant's appeal of a murder conviction and death sentence. The trial took place in Boone County during October 1999.
The defendant argued that the prosecution used her lesbianism to convict her and to obtain a death sentence. Mata told police that she had killed a man who was attempting to rape her.
The state elicited testimony from four witnesses as to Mata's sexual orientation. They offered testimony that she was an "angry" lesbian, and her purported motive was that she killed a man "because she was a lesbian."
The defense argued that it would have been sufficient for the state to argue that Mata was offended by this stranger's sexual advances and touching.
Going into Mata's sexual orientation was merely an improper attempt to inflame the passions of the jury against her by equating her sexual preference for women with a predisposition to murder men.
Assistant state's attorney Troy C. Owens argued in closing that "A normal heterosexual person would not be so offended by (victim's) conduct as to murder."
The prosecution stated in closing that "The defendant is an admitted lesbian... The neighbors knew her to be a lesbian."
The prosecution used titles of books Mata had in her possession to prove she was a "hard core lesbian." The names of the books were read aloud and published to the jury in open court: "Call Me Lesbian," "Best Lesbian Reading," and "Homosexualities."
The state had sought to be allowed to read texts from the books and admit them into evidence, but settled for merely reading the titles and passing the books around to the jury during the trial.
While the defense argued that the state's conduct in Mata was violative of the rules of evidence and ran contrary to due process, it clearly did not violate the rules of professional conduct then in effect.
The Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 8.4(a)(5), forbids conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice, including adverse discriminatory treatment of litigants based on sexual orientation. But that rule wasn't enacted until July 6, 2001.
The committee is considering whether or not the ISBA has a role to play in this matter and, if so, what that role should be. A report will be submitted to the Board of Governors by the end of May.
Section council to hear residential mold issues
Members of the ISBA Real Estate Law Section will attend a presentation on problems of mold and moisture in residential buildings at 9 a.m. Friday, March 8, at the Clock Tower Conference Center, Rockford. A section council meeting will follow.
The mold program is one in a popular series developed by the Illinois Real Estate Lawyers Association to emphasize the importance of property inspections during residential real estate transactions. The speaker will be Larry Schwartz, president of Safestart Building Consulting Inc.
IRELA was founded in 1997 to help real estate lawyers find solutions to increasingly complex issues facing clients in typical housing transactions, and to educate the public on the value of using attorneys when buying and selling homes.
Arlington Heights attorney John G. O'Brien, founding president of IRELA, is a member of the ISBA Assembly, the Real Estate Law Section Council and the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Section Council. He is vice chair of the Task Force on the Unauthorized Practice of Law (see photo at right).
Although O'Brien says "there is no evidence to suggest that mold is a real problem for the majority of Illinois homeowners," potential risks may be resolved easily with home inspections.
After completing about 700 real estate closings last year, O'Brien said he experienced only one incident in which a home buyer backed out of a purchase because of mold issues. That rate of incidence is similar among IRELA members throughout the state.
For details about IRELA or the residential mold program, call (847) 593-5750. For information about the Real Estate Law Section, call vice chair Donald L. Shriver of Rockford at (815) 963-4895.
IICLE seeks new director; Bingaman plans to retire
After 35 years with the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the past 20 as executive director, Charles C. "Chuck" Bingaman has announced that he will leave his position at the end of September.
"It's been a wonderful run," Bingaman said, "but it's time for me to re-invent myself." He plans to move to New Hampshire, where he and his wife first met, and concentrate on independent consulting in legal education and professional development.
The Springfield attorney, a 1968 graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, is vice chair of the ISBA Committee on Legal Technology and a member of the Committee on Professional Conduct.
The IICLE board has set a deadline of March 15 for applicants to submit resumes and statements of qualification to succeed Bingaman as executive director.
Requirements include a law degree, significant experience in continuing legal education management, understanding of adult professional education, and familiarity with publishing, marketing, corporate communications and financial management.
The 40-year-old institute has a $3 million annual budget, 28 full-time employees, an annual schedule of 40 to 45 courses, a growing library of more than 100 handbook titles, and a web site that offers contents in full-text, searchable form.
Call Bingaman at (800) 252-8062 for more information about the position and the search process.
Seiko SmartPad sends written notes to your PDA
Alan Pearlman
The Electronic Lawyer
As the technology world sees the pocket PC gaining more and more market share of the personal digital assistant (PDA) world, Seiko Instruments USA has realized that the time has come to offer the convenience and efficiency of its wonderful SmartPad to the users of that operating system.
I have long been a Pocket PC user and advocate, since I love the convenience and versatility of having a PDA with Microsoft Word and Excel, allowing me to input directly from the PDA to the desktop.
That being said, I also often require, as well as desire, the ability to take notes on a pad of paper and have them immediately transferable to my HP Jornada. As of last December, I can now do both, with ease!
Seiko a while back introduced its SmartPad for users of the Palm operating systems, and I must admit that I envied the users of that product, But now I have that same product at my fingertips with the advent of the SmartPad for Pocket PC.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the SmartPad, a bit of explanation is in order. This is a sleek, easy to carry note pad portfolio that measures 7.25 inches high by 10.5 inches wide by 1.5 inches deep. The pad has space for any standard 5x8 pad of note paper and holds your PAQ or Jornada connected organizer.
The functionality is easy to use. Simply put the user writes on the notepad with the included SmartPad pen, which has electronics in it and operates on one AAA battery. Then the notes and drawings, etc., are instantaneously transferred to your PDA.
When I want to move these items to my desktop or notebook computer, I merely transfer them by means of the PDA's ActiveSync operation. Once the user saves this on the computer, your notes, drawings or anything else can be viewed, edited, printed and attached to e-mail messages in the format of a .JPG, .INK, .PNG or .BMP file.
The SmartPad also comes with a proprietary InkNoteManager software program that uses the personal Outlook categories and key words to organize and manage the user's ink notes. The product also allows the user to view, store, organize, manipulate and even e-mail ink notes directly from PDAs with wireless modems.
As for ease of installation, the pad was operational in a matter of minutes. The included software installed with ease on my desktop and on the PDA at the same time. You merely place your PDA in its cradle, make sure that it is on, and have you ActiveSync opened and functioning on the desktop. The software installs and is ready to work for you.
Next place your PDA on the SmartPad, with the included Velcro, line it up to the IR port and instantly you are writing on the pad and sending it to the PDA.
The SmartPad itself is powered by two AA batteries, and at the present time has compatibility with both the PAQ and Jornada Pocket PC systems. As for your computers, you must have a Pentium or faster computer running Windows 95 or later. I use the new WindowsXP and found absolutely no problem with the install or use.
You should also have at least 16 MB of RAM and 16 MB of available hard disk space, as well as a CD-ROM drive for installation. You receive five ink refill cartridges, the paper and pen, all of which can be replaced at anytime from the Seiko web site.
For legal usage, none can compare to the new SmartPad. I have taken it with me to depositions, courtrooms and meetings. Whenever I need to take notes and have them transcribed to my PDA, it is there working for me 24/7.
The unit can be commended for its style and design, as well. Each time I have shown it to a colleague, I find he or she has one the next time we meet.
In my opinion, if you find the need to have notes, charts, drawings and the like on your PDA, there is no simpler or faster method than using the new SmartPad for Pocket PC. It will bring your PDA new-found functionality that you have wanted and needed.
I highly recommend that you give it a try. Once you do, you won't want to be without it, no matter where you go!
SmartPad for Pocket PC is a product of Seiko Instruments USA Inc., 2990 W. Lomita Blvd., Torrance, Calif. 90505. For more information, call (310) 517-770 or access www.seikosmart.com.
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ISBA Assembly member Alan Pearlman of Northbrook is past chair of the Committee on Legal Technology. He can be reached by e-mail at pearlman@lectrniclawr.com.
Court names Clancy chair of committee
ISBA past president Thomas A. Clancy of Chicago has been named chair of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Jury Instructions in Civil Cases.
A partner in Clancy & Stevens, Clancy has served since January 1999 on the court committee that studies and recommends new pattern jury instructions or modifications of existing instructions in civil trials.
A trustee and past chair of the Illinois Lawyers Political Action Committee (LAWPAC), Clancy serves on the Special Committee on Attorneys' Financial Responsibility and is a past president of the ISBA Mutual Insurance Co.
Elected last month as chair of the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, he is past president of the Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS), a legal aid hotline network in Cook County.
Friday, March 15, is the deadline for writers and editors of ISBA newsletters and other publications to be nominated for one of two special awards that will be presented during the 126th Annual Meeting in June.
They are the Austin Fleming Newsletter Editor Award, which recognizes outstanding newsletter editors, and the Virgil E. Tipton Jr. Award, which honors authors or editors of other publications.
Nominations may be made by individuals, section councils or committees. For more information or a nomination form, call the ISBA Publications Department at (800) 252-8908, or e-mail Janice Ishmael at jishmael@isba.org.
Smart, aggressive top biller wonders how she failed
"They're a bunch of idiots. How could they do this to me? Why would they do this to me!? I'm the highest biller in my class, and they let me go? You tell me how that makes any sense!" Brett had been fired right before the holidays. She was outraged about her treatment.