The Judicial Conference of the United States has authorized the appointment of a full-time United States magistrate judge for the Central District of Illinois at Peoria. The annual salary is $223,836. The eight-year term begins upon appointment. A court’s essential function is to dispense justice. A community’s belief that a court dispenses justice is heightened when the court reflects the community’s racial, ethnic, and gender diversity.

Hannah Brenner Johnson, professor of law and vice dean for academic affairs at California Western School of Law, will become the next dean of the Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School. Sheryl Tucker, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, today (Nov. 14) announced Brenner Johnson's appointment, effective July 1, subject to approval by the SIU Board of Trustees. The national search for dean included a “very competitive pool of highly qualified candidates,” said Tucker, adding that Brenner Johnson “was the desired candidate across all constituents.”

College campuses across the nation have erupted in protests, anger, hatred, and violence in recent months, which has put college administrators in a position to consider enforcing restrictions on protests and demonstrations – but are these restrictions a violation of students’ First Amendment rights? Don’t miss this timely discussion regarding free speech in the educational environment, as well as the issues that can arise.

Justice Lisa Holder White and the Illinois Supreme Court have announced the appointment of Scott P. Robinson as a Resident Circuit Judge in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Second Subcircuit.