The Illinois Supreme Court issued one opinion on December 17. In Barrall v. The Board of Trustees of John A. Logan Community College, the court interpreted a provision in the Public Community College Act governing the “bumping rights” of laid-off tenured faculty members.
Supreme Court Quick Takes
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The Illinois Supreme Court handed down five opinions on Thursday, December 3. They included opinions in two criminal cases and three civil cases.
In People v. Reed, the court answered the question of whether a guilty plea prevents a defendant from later asserting an actual innocence claim under the Post-Conviction Hearing Act. In People v. Knapp, the court considered a case in which the defendant, after his attempted murder conviction was affirmed on appeal, filed a post-conviction petition that alleged that his waiver of his right to testify was neither knowingly nor voluntarily made.
In State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Elmore, the court considered the meaning and enforceability of a “mechanical device” exclusion in an automobile insurance policy that covered a grain truck used in a grain farming operation. In Gillespie v. Edmier, the court agreed that the defendant manufacturer was not entitled to summary judgment on the plaintiff’s strict product liability claims. In People ex rel. Lisa Madigan v. Stateline Recycling, LLC, the court reviewed a contempt order and remanded a case involving a civil enforcement action brought by the Attorney General under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act.
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The Illinois Supreme Court handed down seven opinions on Thursday, November 19. They included opinions in two criminal cases and five civil cases.
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The Illinois Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Wednesday, October 28. In People v. Casler, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded a defendant’s conviction for obstructing justice when he provided a false name to police.
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The Illinois Supreme Court handed down three opinions on Thursday, October 22. In People v. Lusby, the court denied a defendant’s request for leave to file a successive post-conviction petition asserting that his sentencing hearing was constitutionally inadequate. In Tabirta v. Cummings, the court considered whether the existence of one part-time employee who services a few of a defendant corporation’s customers from his home in Cook County satisfies the “other office” or “doing business” prongs of section 2-102(a) of the venue statute. In Goral v. Dart, a split court allowed disciplined and fired Cook County correctional officers to continue their lawsuits against Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart.
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The Illinois Supreme Court handed down nine opinions on Thursday, September 24. In People v. Stoecker, the Court affirmed the dismissal of a defendant’s petition for relief from judgment. In People v. Hollahan, the Supreme Court ruled that there was no error in a circuit court allowing a jury to watch a video of the defendant’s DUI stop in the courtroom with the defendant present. In People v. Gaines, the Court considered whether a trial court’s sua sponte vacatur of a defendant’s guilty plea and his subsequent trial violated double jeopardy. In People v. Deleon, the Court considered whether section 112a-11.5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 which permits the issuance of a protective order in a crime involving domestic violence, a sexual offense, or stalking, is unconstitutional on its face and as applied to a defendant. In United States v. Glispie, the Supreme Court answered a certified question by the Seventh Circuit, holding that the limited authority doctrine applies to residential burglary by entry.
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The Illinois Supreme Court handed down one opinion on Thursday, August 20. In People v. Sophanavong, the court considered whether a circuit court’s failure to strictly comply with the requirements to proceed without a presentence investigation report requires remand for a new sentencing hearing or whether a defendant can waive the issue by pleading guilty as well as forfeit the claim by failing to raise it in a postplea motion.
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The Illinois Supreme Court handed down six opinions on Thursday, June 18. In People v. Legoo, the court affirmed a man’s conviction of being a child sex offender in a public park. In People v. Robinson, the court granted a defendant’s leave to file a successive post-conviction petition asserting a claim of actual innocence in a murder trial. In People v. Swenson, the court upheld a man’s conviction for disorderly conduct after he called a school administrator and made extensive comments about shootings and violence during a phone conversation, causing the school to go on lockdown. In People v. Radford, the Supreme Court found that a trial court did not violate a defendant’s right to a public trial by partially closing the courtroom during jury selection and that no error occurred when the jury was instructed. In City of Chicago v. Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No. 7, the court ruled that state public information laws require Chicago to preserve decades-old police misconduct records despite a provision in the police union’s collective bargaining agreement. In Hernandez v. Lifeline Ambulance, LLC , the court ruled that section 3.150 of the EMS Act provides no immunity from civil liability to an ambulance owner and its driver where the driver, allegedly speeding, collided with another vehicle en route to pick up a patient for nonemergency transportation.
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The Illinois Supreme Court handed down three opinions on Thursday, June 4. In People v. Coty, the court declined to extend the protections of Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460 (2012), to an intellectually disabled adult. In Williamson County Board of Commissioners v. The Board of Trustees of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, the court found that amended section 7-137.2(a) of the Illinois Pension Code was unconstitutional. In Rios v. Bayer Corp., the court dismissed the case for lack of specific personal jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant as to the claims of out-of-state plaintiffs for personal injuries suffered outside of Illinois from a device manufactured outside of Illinois.
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The Illinois Supreme Court handed down three opinions on Thursday, May 21. In People v. Green, the court weighed in on conflict-of-interest issues when an attorney has represented an intended victim of a crime where another person turns out to be the actual victim. In Levin v. Retirement Board of the County Employees’ & Officers’ Annuity & Benefit Fund, the court upheld an appellate court decision that a county board exceeded its authority in denying an employee health insurance because she was previously a state employee. In Lewis v. Lead Industries Association, the court held that plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit to recover the costs of lead screening undergone by their children had no claim.