The Illinois Supreme Court handed down two opinions on Friday, February 21. In People v. Gayden, the court considered whether to provide a means for a defendant to challenge his trial attorney’s failure to file a motion to suppress where the record on direct appeal was found to be insufficient to evaluate that claim. In Joiner v. SVM Management, LLC, the court reaffirmed its prior holdings that a class action lawsuit is mooted when the named plaintiff rejects tender of full relief before a class certification motion is filed.
Supreme Court Quick Takes
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February 21, 2020 | Practice News
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January 27, 2020 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down eight opinions on Friday, January 24. Full summaries of the opinions are available below.
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December 20, 2019 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down five opinions on Thursday, December 19. The ISBA's panel of leading civil attorneys reviewed the opinions and provided summaries. In Ammons v. Canadian National Railway Co., the court interpreted the meaning of sections 55 and 60 of the Federal Employers’ Liability Act. In Iwan Ries & Co. v. the City of Chicago, the court addressed the city of Chicago’s power to tax tobacco products other than cigarettes. In Jones v. Pneumo Abex, LLC, an asbestos-related case involving claims of civil conspiracy, the Supreme Court remanded to the appellate court for reconsideration of a summary judgment reversal. In Andrews v. Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the court provided further clarity on discretionary immunity available under sections 2-109 and 2-201 of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act. In Rushton v. the Department of Corrections, the court interpreted the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in deciding whether a journalist could obtain a settlement agreement between Wexford Health Sources, Inc., an entity that contracts with the Illinois Department of Corrections (DOC) to provide medical care to inmates, and the estate of an inmate who died from cancer.
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December 5, 2019 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Thursday, December 5. In People v. Eubanks, the court held 625 ILCS 5/11-501.2(c)(2) unconstitutional as applied to the defendant. Section 501.2(c)(2) permits the warrantless collection and testing of an individual’s blood, breath, or urine for alcohol or drugs if the police have probable cause to believe that the individual was driving under the influence and was involved in a motor vehicle accident causing death or personal injury to another.
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November 21, 2019 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down nine opinions on Thursday, November 21. Full summaries of the opinions are available below.
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October 24, 2019 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Thursday, October 24. In Yakich v. Aulds, the court vacated a circuit court judgment, which declared unconstitutional section 513 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act.
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October 18, 2019 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down two opinions on Friday, October 18. In People v. Murray, the court reversed a defendant’s conviction of unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member on the basis that the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act requires proof of specific offenses in order to satisfy the “course or pattern of criminal activity” element necessary to establish that an individual is a street gang member. In People v. Austin, the Supreme Court rejected a circuit court’s determination that a criminal charge against a woman who distributed private sexual images of her ex-fiancee’s lover violated her first-amendment rights.
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September 19, 2019 | Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down four opinions on Thursday, September 19. In Accettura v. Vacationland, Inc., the court clarified the distinction between rejection and revocation of acceptance for purposes of the Illinois version of the Uniform Commercial Code. In Carmichael v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the court provided instruction on what is a proper counterclaim under section 2-608 of the Code of Civil Procedure and explained that a counterclaim is an independent, substantive cause of action that seeks affirmative relief and must stand or fall on its own merits. In People v. Custer, the court considered whether to extend the procedures established in Krankel and its progeny to proceedings commenced under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act and declined to do so. In People v. Smith, the court upheld the convictions of two defendants for aggravated battery of a senior citizen.
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August 1, 2019 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Thursday, Aug. 1. In People v. Johnson, the court held that the act of shoplifting could be prosecuted as burglary as opposed to retail theft.
By Kerry J. Bryson, Office of the State Appellate Defender
In July 2014, Darren Johnson and another man entered the Rock Falls Walmart, placing two backpacks on top of a coin counting machine in the vestibule on their way into the store. Inside, they gathered some items of clothing and then, without paying for the clothing, returned to the vestibule, retrieved the backpacks, and loaded the clothing into the backpacks. They repeated this process a second time. A customer called the police, and Johnson was stopped outside of the store. Johnson admitted stealing the clothing, telling the police it was for his daughter.
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June 20, 2019 |
Practice News
The Illinois Supreme Court issued five opinions on Thursday, June 20. The ISBA's panel of leading civil attorneys reviewed the opinions and provided summaries. In Nichols v. Fahrenkamp, the court took on the question of whether quasi-judicial immunity extends to court-appointed guardians ad litem in the context of the administration of funds from a personal injury lawsuit. The court dismissed a man’s class action lawsuit against Walgreens on the grounds that his claim was precluded under the voluntary payment doctrine in McIntosh v. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. In County of Will v. Pollution Control Board, the court upheld the board’s determination that groundwater monitoring regulations were unnecessary to protect groundwater from clean construction and demolition debris and uncontaminated soil fill operations. In Ward v. Decatur Memorial Hospital, the court weighed in on whether res judicata bars a plaintiff from refiling an action because he voluntarily dismissed the third amended complaint after a circuit court involuntarily dismissed several counts from the original, first, and second amended complaints in the initial action. The court addressed whether a court may impose sanctions in the form of attorney fees under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 137(a) against a plaintiff to compensate an attorney defending himself against a frivolous cause of action in McCarthy v. Taylor.