Jury Trials During Covid

 One year after the coronavirus pandemic forced local courts to shut down, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans has announced that criminal trials are now scheduled to resume next month.

Evans on Wednesday announced target dates to resume in-person jury trials on March 22 at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 26th Street and on March 29 at the Bridgeview Courthouse. Summonses for prospective jurors are already arriving in mailboxes across the county this week.

“The right to a trial by jury is a cornerstone of our democracy, and jury service is one of the most important things that you can do as a citizen,” Evans said in letters to jurors. “Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we have established procedures to safeguard the health of all persons in the courthouses. Every reasonable precaution will be taken to protect the health and safety of the jurors, parties, witnesses, lawyers and court staff during jury selection and the trial to follow.”

Jury trials were suspended last March during the initial COVID-19 outbreak and courts face an enormous backlog of cases that must be handled. #jurytrials,

Divorce Rate During Covid-19

 The drop in the divorce rate is likely to continue in 2020, despite the pandemic. When COVID-19 hit America in March, early signs suggested that the pandemic may have expedited divorces because of lockdown-related stress. However, new survey data finds that the pandemic has actually brought some couples closer to each other. According to data from the American Family Survey, a majority of married Americans (58%) say that the pandemic has made them appreciate their spouse more and half agree that their commitment to marriage has deepened. Moreover, initial data from some states suggests that divorce filings have indeed declined. It is likely that divorce may increase a bit after COVID-19 because of the pent-up demands, but the overall decline in divorce appears to be a consistent trend.  #covidanddivorce,

Remote Court Hearings

 The Illinois Supreme Court was correct to recently provide guidelines to help some of the cases proceed in remote court hearings.

It’s clear that a defendants’ right to a speedy trial has been compromised by the situation. The state supreme court had this in mind when it released the guidelines, as for the most part, approval to proceed with a case rests with the defendant.

According to a recent story published by Capitol News Illinois, the only circumstances where a hearing can be held remotely without consent from the defendant comes in the early stages of the case.  The guidelines state that certain criminal hearings such as initial appearances or non-substantive status hearings can be held remotely, even if the person charged with a crime objects to a remote hearing.

Beyond that, the defendant has to grant permission for a remote hearing.  This stipulation applies to sentencing hearings or hearings where a plea of guilty will be entered, and bench trials where a judge rather than a jury issues a verdict.  Jury trials will never be held remotely under the guidelines.

These guidelines apply a commonsense approach to solving an uncommon problem.. They protect the rights of the defendant, while at the same time putting the wheels back in motion so justice can be served.  #remotecourthearings,

Pet Custody In A Divorce

 Pets are generally treated as personal property when a couple divorces. This is hard for many people who see a pet as part of the family. In many states, deciding who gets custody of Fido is the same as deciding who gets custody of the table lamp.

That's why some courts are wary of deciding issues such as custody and visitation rights when it comes to a pet. It's not like individuals are usually granted visitation rights to go see their favorite couch every week.

The issue is especially hard if courts refuse to get involved. Pet custody laws may become uniform at some point. But for now, what happens to your pet after a divorce is unfortunately unclear. Don't let a pet custody battle draw out your divorce and make an already bad situation worse. However, in Illinois courts only awards ownership of the pet, not custody or visitation. #petcustodyforadivorce,

Grounds For Divorce

Before a judge will grant a divorce, a spouse or both spouses must prove grounds. The only grounds for divorce recognized in Illinois are irreconcilable differences which some people refer to as no-fault divorce. Illinois law defines irreconcilable differences as the “irretrievable breakdown” of a marriage. The spouses are required to either be separated for six months in separate households or within the same household during the time of the breakdown of the marriage, or to assert there is a breakdown in the marriage, but all efforts at reconciliation have failed, and that future attempts to reconcile would not be “in the best interest of the family.” #groundsfordivorce,

Insulin Price Cap

Gov. JB Pritzker joined Dr. Ngozi Ezike, and many advocates to sign the monumental price cap bill into law on January 24. Any patients under the state’s insurance plan needing insulin will only have to pay $100 per month for their prescription. #insulin, #insulinpricecap,