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The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is accepting applications from all qualified applicants for the position of Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Illinois. This position is headquartered in East St. Louis, Illinois. Deadline to apply has been extended to November 16, 2021.
“Technology keeps changing, except when it doesn’t,” writes Ed Finkel in the November Bar Journal’s cover story, “26 Tech Tips for Saving Money, Time, and Sanity.” It’s important, Finkel continues, to keep up with the changes that do take place and according to attorneys who participated in an ISBA CLE session held on June 24 called 60 Virtual Tips in 60 Minutes. The Illinois Bar Journal took in the session and curated 26 great tips from the program for November’s article.
On September 20, 2021, this United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued notice of its intent to rescind Circuit Rule 57. No comments were received. The court hereby rescinds Circuit Rule 57 effective immediately.
The Illinois Supreme Court announced a new order which modifies the Court-Based Rental Assistance Program (CBRAP) in order to grant the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) access to information in sealed eviction court files. CBRAP is available in all Illinois counties outside Cook and the City of Chicago. Both Cook County and the City of Chicago received separate federal funding and have their own court-based rental assistance program as part of Cook’s Early Resolution Program.
By Michael Bergmann, Executive Director of the Public Interest Law Initiative
Save the date for another Pro Bono Week celebration! Coordinated by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, Pro Bono Week is intended to inspire even greater pro bono participation by lawyers throughout the nation. This initiative provides an opportunity for legal organizations across the country to collaboratively commemorate the vitally important contributions of America’s lawyers and to recruit and train the many additional volunteers required to meet the growing demand.
How might Illinois take more seriously its Constitution’s directive of returning offenders of all ages to useful citizenship. In their October Illinois Bar Journal article, “Useful Sentencing,” Andrea D. Lyon and Hannah J. Brooks show how Illinois courts have interpreted this part of the state’s constitution in lockstep with the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretations of the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual” punishment—and how Illinois has seriously reassessed its position on sentencing in light of the major decisions on that subject from both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Illinois Supreme Court.
Our panel of leading appellate attorneys reviews the seven Illinois Supreme Court opinions handed down Thursday, October 21.
Mark your calendar for the Open House Party in honor of retired Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier. The retirement party is Saturday, November 6, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at the Nashville American Legion (533 E. Legion Drive, Nashville, IL 62263). There will be hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. All are invited to attend.
Eviction law has not changed drastically over the years, that is, until the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that time there have been significant, temporary changes in the law as a result of the Illinois and federal eviction moratoriums, Illinois Supreme Court orders, and the passage of new legislation. But as the pandemic wanes, eviction issues, and a lawyer’s need to understand the basics, will remain.
An app that connected traffic-ticket defendants with lawyers was engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a 4-3 decision. Read the article at the ABA Journal.