Practice News

The Illinois Courts Commission (Commission) announced today that it has hired Shelley M. Bethune as its first Executive Director and General Counsel. Ms. Bethune will serve as the head of the agency and will supervise its day-to-day operations. Her first day will be June 1, 2022.  

Even when reports are made and charges are filed, cases involving domestic violence are notoriously difficult to prosecute, states Charles Golaszewski in his May Illinois Bar Journal Article, “Propensities, for Evidence and Violence.” Given that domestic violence occurs between family and household members, most of the abuse takes place in the home, meaning that eyewitnesses to specific incidents are rare. Since most victims do not seek medical treatment following incidents of abuse, prosecutors commonly lack documentation of physical injuries to corroborate a victim’s allegations. In domestic violence prosecutions, corroboration in any form is hard to come by, which, in turn, makes it difficult for a fact finder to find a defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Every litigant in a civil action in Illinois has a statutory right to seek a change of judge without cause. But a judicially created constraint commonly known as the “test the waters doctrine” often limited a party’s ability to invoke the right to change judges. Recently, the Illinois Supreme Court abolished the test the waters doctrine expanding a litigant’s statutory right to change judges without cause, writes Daniel J. Karrison in his May Illinois Bar Journal article, “Test the Waters Doctrine Sinks.”

The bar admission ceremony for the 292 new attorneys who passed the February 2022 Bar Exam will be held online on Thursday, May 12, at 11:00 a.m. Chief Justice Anne M. Burke will preside over the ceremony and administer the oath to the new admittees. Justice P. Scott Neville will make the motion to admit the class and Justice Robert L. Carter will second the motion.