Gino DiVito, author of the ISBA’s “The Illinois Rules of Evidence: A Color-Coded Guide,” was recently surprised when he uncovered more than three dozen differences between the Illinois and Federal Rules of Evidence. Some differences are major, some are minor. ”But all differences matter,” DiVito says. “Anyone serious about evidence—including all judges and most attorneys—must know the differences.” Fortunately, in the January 2020 issue of the Illinois Bar Journal, DiVito provides a succinct guide of all the differences between the IRE and FRE in his article, “The Surprising Number of Differences Between the Federal and Illinois Rules of Evidence.” DiVito writes, “I’m not aware of any freestanding guide on the differences between the Federal Rules of Evidence and the Illinois Rules of Evidence. Until now.”

As of Jan. 1, Illinois became the 11th state to legalize recreational cannabis. Many regulations remain to be written and much caselaw no doubt will follow, ensuring that attorneys in such areas as criminal and employment law will have plentiful opportunities to advise clients on cannabis-related matters in the months and years ahead.​ The Illinois Bar Journal's January 2020 issue surveys several hot cannabis topics, such as the state of available drug tests, how to define under the influence, employment law, and cannabis-related expungement cases now working their way through the court system. 

In 2016, the Illinois Supreme Court held that unconstitutionally obtained gun convictions could be used for charging and enhancement purposes unless the defendant vacated the conviction. Two years later, the court admitted it got it wrong. A rule articulated in a criminal case rippled out into a termination-of-parental rights proceeding and culminated in a call to arms. In his December 2019 Illinois Bar Journal article, “The Illinois Supreme Court’s About Face in In re N.G.,” Benjamin Lawson shows how In re N.G. challenges us as practitioners to recognize when a client’s conviction is unconstitutionally obtained and to do something about it.

The Illinois Trust Code becomes effective Jan. 1, 2020, representing a multiyear effort to modify and adapt the Uniform Trust Code. In his December Illinois Bar Journal article, “The New Illinois Trust Code: Practical Pointers,” Dan Felix provides a topic-oriented introduction that moves progressively through the Code. He notes several changes from the existing Illinois Trust and Trustees Act and raises questions for further resolution. Felix also includes a practical checklist for attorneys who will be working with the Code.