The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recently stated the rules regarding civil contempt orders are appealable interlocutory orders. The court ruled: • “An order holding a litigant in contempt of court is not appealable while the litigation continues.” • Resolution [of the contempt order] must await the final decision in…
Abraham Flagg was convicted of distributing cocaine and cocaine base, and of conspiracy to distribute. After a plea deal, he received concurrent sentences of 180 months of imprisonment and 60 months of supervised release. As soon as he began serving it, Flagg violated the terms of his supervised release. He…
Bobby Lee Harrison was awaiting trial on charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault. He was unhappy with the trial judge, so he moved for substitution, claiming the judge was biased against him. The motion was denied, and Harrison appealed. The First District Appellate Court granted the State’s motion to dismiss.…
Just for fun, I’m going to keep track of the won-lost record for motions for rehearing in the Illinois Supreme Court. I’ll start with the rulings issued on March 26, 2007. So far, Denials 5, Grants nothing.
A property owner, Burtley, moved to vacate an order of foreclosure that was entered without an evidentiary hearing. He appealed the trial court’s denial of the motion. The parties disputed the appellate standard of review. Burtley asserted review should be de novo “or what he labels an ‘ends of justice’…
The Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association will present “The 10 Habits of Highly Effective Appellate Lawyers That Make Clerks Smile.” Speakers will be Steven Ravid, Robert Mangan, Gist Fleshman, and Louis Costa, respectively the Clerks of the Court for the First, Second, Third, and Fifth Districts in Illinois. The luncheon event…
Mead Corporation’s tax dispute with the Illinois Department of Revenue led to this appeal in the Illinois First District. Although there was substantial testimonial and documentary evidence, the chief facts were not disputed. The issue in this appeal concerned an application of those facts to the Illinois Income Tax Act,…
If you’re filing electronically, and it’s after 4:30 p.m., what is the official date of the filing? Is it the actual date, albeit after the clerk’s office is closed, or is it the next day? The answer can make a big difference. Either you’re late or you’re on time. Either…
A senatorial candidate sued a columnist and a newspaper for libel. The trial court dismissed the case, and the candidate appealed. After the appeal was filed, the candidate voluntarily dismissed the columnist, but maintained the appeal against the newspaper. A mandate was issued with respect to the dismissal of the…
This case presents a messy insurance dispute over who would pay a judgment arising from an auto accident. The judgment, and thus the amount in dispute, was for $8,400. Plaintiff insurance company brought a garnishment action against the defendant insurance company. Plaintiff’s summary judgment motion was denied, and defendant was…