On Friday, December 19, Governor Pat Quinn signed SB 3075 into law. The law amends the Code and the Code of Civil Procedure regarding jury service in Illinois. Specifically, the bill does the following: Cuts the number of jurors in civil cases from 12 to 6. The...
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Cook County Courts to Allow Video Cameras
Video cameras and audio recording devices will be allowed in some Cook County courtrooms beginning January, 2015 month, Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans announced this week. Cook County joins about 40 other Illinois Counties which allow video of...
Proposal to Cut Illinois Civil Juries from 12 to 6 Passes Illinois House
A proposal to trim the number of jurors from twelve to six in civil trials in Illinois circuit courts passed the Illinois House of Representatives on December 2, 2014. Senate Bill 3075 would cut by half the size of civil juries while boosting juror pay to $25 for the f...
Steering Defect Leads to New Ford Recall
The New York Times reports that the National Highway Transportation Administration is investigating a power steering issue that could affect 938,000 2010-2012 Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans, noting the company has already recalled 1.1 million other vehicles due to...
Prosecuting or Defending a Civil Lawsuit Under a Fictitious Name
Last month, the Illinois Appellate Court issued a rare opinion interpreting section 2-401(e) of the Code of Civil Procedure, which allows a litigant to appear under a fictitious name upon a showing of “good cause.” In Doe v Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 2014 IL App...
Joscelyn Johnson Verdict
Joscelyn Johnson was 38 weeks pregnant when her doctor, Dr. Emanuel Javate scheduled her to be admitted to St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights early to induce her due to pregnancy induced hypertension and an expected large for gestational age baby. Joscelyn and her...
New Rideshare Ordinance in Chicago
The Chicago City Council has approved a measure to regulate rideshare companies such as Uber X, Lyft and SideCar. Unlike taxi drivers, people offering rides with these services use their personal cars, which do not have to be registered with or inspected by the city....
General Motors’ Ignition Switch Defect
GM released last week a 325-page investigative report conducted by Chicago attorney Anton Valukas exposing the automaker’s failure to fix a deadly defect that lingered for more than a decade and is now blamed for at least 13 deaths. GM has recalled 2.6 million...
CTA Blue Line Train Crash at O’Hare: Know Your Legal Rights
More than 30 people were injured on March 24, 2014 when a CTA Blue Line train ran into a platform at O’Hare and came to rest on an escalator. All of the injured were aboard the train and were taken in fair or good condition to four area hospitals. The eight-car train...
Use Discretion On Social Media Sites
In Miami, a teenage girl shared confidential information about her father’s settlement in an age discrimination lawsuit and cost her father $80,000. Her father’s $80,000 settlement was subject to a confidentiality clause. His daughter boasted about it on Facebook and...