Default Judgment

A default judgment occurs in Illinois civil cases when the Defendant has been properly served with a complaint and summons and has failed to file an answer to the complaint by the first court date or to appear in court for the first court date.  A default judgment can also occur later in the case if the Defendant ceases to participate in required court dates or other court requirements.  

A default judgment grants the relief sought in the plaintiff’s complaint against the defendant and is enforceable just like a judgment order that is entered after a trial.  After a default judgment is entered, the plaintiff is required to send notice of the judgment to the party that has been defaulted. #defaultjudgment,

Bentley's Law

A bill in Tennessee that would require drunk drivers who kill the parent of a minor to pay child support unanimously passed the state Senate on Wednesday.

The bill requires anyone convicted of vehicular homicide due to intoxication, or aggravated vehicular homicide, when the victim is the parent of a minor child to pay restitution for each child until they are 18 and have graduated high school.

Courts are charged with determining the amount of child support on a case-by-case basis in the bill, depending on the circumstances of the children and their living guardians. If a defendant is unable to pay while incarcerated, they will have one year after release to begin payment.

The bill was also known as "Bentley's Law" after an child in Missouri whose parents were killed in an accident involving a drunk driver, according to news reports. Cecilia Williams is now raising her orphaned grandchild and has advocated for the bill.#bentley'slaw,

Annullment

The state of Illinois recognizes four main grounds for annulling a marriage: illegality (void marriage), lack of consent, inability to consummate the marriage, or underage without parental consent. If a judge determines a marriage invalid, he or she may annul the marriage with a Judgment of Invalidity. #annullment, #judgmentofinvalidity,

Rule To Show Cause

A Petition for Rule to Show Cause may be used by a person who says that another person has not followed a court order or judgment. The person who files the petition is called the petitioner; The other person is called the respondent.

The petition will:

• Say which order or judgment has not been followed, and
• Explain what the petitioner thinks the respondent did or did not do.

A violation of a court order is a serious matter. The punishment can range from warnings to fines, and even jail. #ruletoshowcause,

Post-Decree Motions Schaumburg

"Post-decree motions" are filed when a divorced (or legally separated) couple engages in "post-decree litigation," which basically means a couple is fighting about issues after the final divorce decree, and they're headed back to court to resolve them. #post-decreemotions,

Restitution

Restitution is the out of pocket expenses (not covered by insurance or other means) the victim has from medical bills and damages as a result of the defendant's criminal actions against them. The prosecutor will seek restitution in criminal cases whenever documentation is provided and reasonable. #restitution,

No-Knock Warrants

While no-knock warrants are still permitted in Illinois, new laws and policies have recently been established to ensure that they are carried out responsibly. Most notably, the recently passed Illinois House Bill 3653 introduced widespread criminal justice reform, including the following requirements for no-knock warrants that will take effect on July 1, 2021:

• All officers involved in the execution of a no-knock warrant must be appropriately equipped with body cameras, or the search must be recorded using some other means.

• Officers must take reasonable steps to ensure that the correct property is being searched, and that children and vulnerable people who may be on the property are considered in the execution of the warrant. If a no-knock warrant is executed at the wrong location, any officer who learns of this mistake must report it to a supervisor to initiate an internal investigation. #noknockwarrants,