Court Closing

Cook County Circuit Court is extending its suspension of most criminal and civil cases through May and expanding the use of videoconferencing amid the growing COVID-19 outbreak.

Originally postponed until April 15, most court cases are now suspended until May 18, the office of Chief Judge Timothy Evans said in a statement Monday.

Evans also ordered the expansion of videoconferencing for all court proceeds deemed necessary or emergencies, officials said. All court hearings will be conducted via video no later than April 16. Currently, all detainees with bail hearings appear in court via video.#courtclosing,

Coronavirus Office Closings

     On March 20, 2020, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a statewide stay-at-home order aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus.  All non-essential business in the state were ordered to close their doors effective March 21, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. and remain closed through April 7, 2020.

     The executive order specifically lists 23 different kinds of businesses that are "encouraged to remain open", including "professional services, such as legal services, accounting services, insurance services , real estate services (including appraisal and title services).  Under the order, professional services such as legal services can stay open "when necessary to assist in compliance with legally mandated activities". #coronavirus, 

Modification of Child Support

Child support payments cannot be changed without going to court. The amount of child support owed only changes when the judge enters a new court order that changes it.

Either parent can ask the court to change or modify the amount of child support payments, even down to $0, if there has been a substantial change in circumstances, since the last child support order.

A substantial change in circumstances means a big change. For example, a change in one of the parents' job situation or ability to make money. #modificationchildsupport, #child

support,

Coronovirus & State Crime Lab

Cook County prosecutors will be dropping all new drug cases as the coronovirus outbreak has led the state crime lab to reduce its operations to only urgent work involving violent crimes. Cases that are dropped will be reevaluated after the lab begins testing again, to determine if they are eligible to be indicted by a grand jury. #coronovirus, #state labs,

Coronavirus Court Closing

The vast majority of Cook County court operations, both criminal and civil, will be postponed for nearly a month beginning last Tuesday as a precaution against coronavirus, the chief judge’s office confirmed Friday.

Courthouses across the county will remain open “though there will be fewer cases,” according to a statement from the office. Regular operations are expected to resume April 15 at the earliest, according to a statement from Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ office. #coronavirus, #courtclosings,

Driver's License Suspension//Child Support

 You can lose your license if you're 90 days behind on child support. It's not automatic, and there are lots of ways to avoid it, but it's possible.

The Family Financial Responsibility Act went into effect in 1996. Commonly called the "Deadbeats Don't Drive" law, it provides 3 ways your license can be suspended for non-support — and one for "visitation abuse."

The law distinguishes between not paying anything in 90 days —being delinquent — and being a total of 90 days behind on support. Those will often overlap, but not always.

If you're delinquent, your license can be suspended if a judge holds you in contempt, or if the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) asks the Secretary of State to suspend your license.

(The HFS regulations say they won't ask unless you're $2,500 and 90 days behind.)

Being held in contempt, or having a judge order the suspension without contempt, both require that there be a court order for child support. Those child support orders will, therefore, be public records, at the circuit clerk's office.

The suspension that HFS can request only requires the kind of "administrative" child support order that HFS can set as a state agency. That order will just be at the HFS office, and not a public record. That's how it's possible to have a child support order without a court case. #childsupport, #driverslicensesuspensionchildsupport,

Baiid Device

A BAIID (Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device) is a breathalyzer installed in your vehicle that tests your breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) before you start your vehicle. If your BrAC is above a certain level, you will not be able to start your vehicle.

As required by the Office of The Illinois Secretary of State, you will also have to submit a sample of your BrAC at random intervals while your vehicle is on, commonly referred to as a random retest. This random retest prevents you from operating your vehicle while intoxicated after you’ve already started your vehicle.

If you have been arrested for a DUI in the state of Illinois, you may be required to install a BAIID in your vehicle. Depending on your offense, you may need to install a BAIID in order to obtain a Monitoring Device Driving Permit (MDDP), a Restricted Driving Permit (RDP), or as a requirement from a court order. #BAIID, 

SCOTUS

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate (and largely discretionary) appellate jurisdiction over all federal and state court cases that involve a point of federal law, and original jurisdiction over a narrow range of cases, specifically "all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party". The Court holds the power of judicial review, the ability to invalidate a statute for violating a provision of the U.S. Constitution. It is also able to strike down presidential directives for violating either the Constitution or statutory law. However, it may act only within the context of a case in an area of law over which it has jurisdiction. The Court may decide cases having political overtones, but it has ruled that it does not have power to decide non-justiciable political questions. #scotus, #supremecourt, 

Uncontested Divorce

 An uncontested divorce (referred to as a “dissolution of marriage” in Illinois) simply means that both spouses agree on all the key terms of the divorce, including:

• division of the marital assets and debts
• alimony, and
• any other dispute involving your marriage.

If you or your spouse disagree about any of these items, your divorce will be considered "contested" and it will have to go to trial, although you can still settle your case at any time up to the trial date.

Illinois has a special, expedited form of uncontested divorce that should save you time and money if you qualify. It’s called “joint simplified dissolution,” and it’s designed to speed up the process for couples who are able to reach a complete agreement about the terms of their divorce. #uncontesteddivorce, #divorce,

Legal Separation

In Illinois legal separation is a court-approved regime by which separated spouses agree to live independent of each other both physically and financially. ... Under Illinois law, a legal separation allows a spouse who is without fault to receive reasonable support and maintenance while the parties live apart.. #legalseparation, #separation,