Practice News

Our panel of leading appellate attorneys review Thursday's Illinois Supreme Court opinions in the criminal cases People v. Clemons, People v. Hunt, People v. Dominguez and People v. Edwards.

People v. Clemons

By Jay Wiegman, Office of the State Appellate Defender

At first blush, it seems a simple axiom: the punishment should fit the crime. Figuring out when a penalty is disproportionate to the offense, however, has long been a thorny issue, particularly because the Legislature has adopted several overlapping provisions that enhance the length of sentences based on the involvement of firearms in offenses.  As a result, criminal defendants frequently argue that their punishment violates  the proportionate penalties clause of the Constitution where they receive a sentence that exceeds the range of sentences applied to other cases that are identical to the offense of which they were convicted. In 2007, the Illinois Supreme Court held that "common sense and sound logic dictate that the penalties for identical offenses should be identical."  People v. Hauschild, 226 Ill. 2d 63. Thus, In Hauschild, the Supreme Court held that "the sentence for armed robbery while armed with a firearm violates the proportionate penalties clause because the penalty for that offense is more severe than the penalty for the identical offense of armed violence predicated on robbery with a category I or category II weapon.” Hauschild, 226 Ill. 2d at 87.

"Medical Negligence and The Law" and "Negligence and The Law" will air on Chicago Access Network Television, Channel 21 in Chicago, at 10 p.m. in April and May. Illinois Law is a cable production of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) and can also be viewed online at iln.isba.org/blog/illinois-law-video.

"Medical Negligence and The Law" will air on on Tuesdays, April 24 and May 8. Appearing on the show are (from left) Ronald Kalish, of Steinberg, Goodman & Kalish in Chicago; Karen McNulty Enright, of Winters Enright Salzetta & O’Brien, LLC, in Chicago; Hon. Elizabeth M. Budzinski, a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County; and program moderator Samuel A. Kavathas, of Kavathas & Castanes in Chicago.

"Negligence and The Law" will air at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, May 1 and 15. Appearing on the show are program moderator Samuel A. Kavathas, of Kavathas & Castanes in Chicago; Ronald Kalish, of Steinberg, Goodman & Kalish in Chicago; Karen McNulty Enright, of Winters Enright Salzetta & O’Brien, LLC, in Chicago; and Hon. Thomas V. Lyons, a judge in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

The 33,000-member organization, with offices in Springfield and Chicago, provides professional services to Illinois lawyers, and education and services to the public.

The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Bernard M. Judge of Chicago to serve as a Commissioner of the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC). The ARDC is the Supreme Court agency that has administrative authority over more than 90,000 Illinois lawyers and investigates allegations of attorney misconduct. The order of appointment, dated April 12, 2012, is effective immediately.

Mr. Judge is a nationally respected newspaper executive who has served in management positions at the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times andthe Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. He began his career as a reporter for the City New Bureau of Chicago in 1965. Soon thereafter, he joined the Tribuneand covered state and federal courts and wrote about state government and politics. He became the Tribune’sCity Editor in 1974 and Assistant Managing Editor in 1979.  Two investigative reporting projects he directed as City Editor won the Pulitzer Prize. Mr. Judge served as Editor and General Manager of the City News Bureau in 1983-1984, before he joined the Sun-Times as metropolitan editor and later as associate editor. In 1988, he was hired by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company as editor and vice president of Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, and became the Law Bulletin’s publisher in 2001. He also served as the editor and publisher of the Chicago Lawyer magazine. Mr. Judge retired in July 2007 and, since that time, has been a non-lawyer Hearing Board officer for the ARDC, serving as a trial judge in lawyer disciplinary cases.

The ISBA ethics opinion database is online and organized by year, subject and a general search.

ISBA Professional Conduct Advisory Opinion No. 12-09, March 2012

Digest: A lawyer not admitted in Illinois may not primarily practice in this state, physically or through a virtual office, even if the co-owner of the law firm is a lawyer, licensed in Illinois, who has direct supervision of the non-admitted lawyer on matters involving Illinois clients.

References: Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct 5.5, 7.1, 8.5(a)
ABA Report of the Commission on Multijurisdictional Practice (2002)
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 721(a)(4)
Ohio Sup. Ct., Bd. of Comm’rs on Grievances & Discipline, Opinion 2011-2

Facts

Two attorneys wish to establish a law practice owned 50/50 between them. One is licensed only in Illinois, one is licensed only in State X.

Both live and primarily work in Illinois. However, the attorney licensed in State X makes frequent visits to State X for networking and to cultivate a client base there. The attorneys agree that the Illinois-licensed attorney will have direct supervision and ultimate authority over matters involving Illinois clients, although the State X-licensed attorney will interact with Illinois clients and dispense legal advice to them from time to time.