Practice News

In “Public Records Shortcuts,” the title of Jesse Bowman’s Finding Illinois Law column in the September issue of the Illinois Bar Journal, Bowman, associate law librarian for technology initiatives and instruction at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Pritzker Legal Research Center, summarizes two free internet tools that can be used to search more than 70,000 public databases on the internet. Bowman compares these two services (Search Systems and BRB Publications), demonstrates how they work, and lists their pros and cons. Similar, more powerful search tools are available for a price, Bowman notes. But why not take these free services for a test run and see what they can do?

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.

The Illinois Supreme Court announced the filing of lawyer disciplinary orders on September 21, 2020. Sanctions were imposed because the lawyers engaged in professional misconduct by violating state ethics law.

PILI will grant $312,000 to fund 60 law student interns at 30 public interest law organizations across Illinois during the 2020-21 academic year and the summer of 2021. 

PILI’s Law Student Internship Program connects law students from across the country with public interest law agencies in Illinois and pays them for their work. Typically, Interns receive $6,000 for working 400 hours during the summer and $3,000 for working 200 hours over a semester. Interns can also receive law school credit for their Internship if first approved by both the student’s law school and agency.