Law Commons^™

Comment: The Unjust Side Of Civil Asset Forfeiture In Illinois: Innocent Victims And Corrupted Incentives, Sarah Farwick

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Under the broad scope of modern civil asset forfeiture, law enforcement agencies routinely deprive citizens of their property without ever formally charging them with a crime. This system diminishes the ideal values of American justice, yet the Supreme Court has long held that civil asset forfeiture is constitutional, leaving prospects of judicial reform unlikely. Therefore, it is crucial that individual states take action to protect their citizens by abolishing the use of civil asset forfeiture. In 2017, the Illinois General Assembly attempted to reform its civil asset forfeiture system, but upon close analysis and application of the statute, it is …

A New Approach To Felony Murder In Illinois, Jason M. Cieslik

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In August of 2019, six teenagers drove to a rural area of Lake County, Illinois, in a stolen vehicle with the intention of burglarizing vehicles. Startled, the homeowner retrieved his gun, went out on the porch, and observed one of the teens approaching him, with what the homeowner determined to be a weapon. The homeowner fired his gun and killed one of the teens. The remaining five teens were charged with felony murder. At the time of this incident, Illinois applied the “proximate-cause theory” to felony murder. In response, the General Assembly amended the felony-murder rule with the intent to …

Real Harm In A Virtual World: Establishing Federal Standing In The Seventh Circuit Under Illinois’S Biometric Information Privacy Act, Julia Lobo

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Illinois became the first state to regulate the collection and use of biometric information by private entities when it enacted the Biometric Information Privacy Act in 2008. In the years since, more and more businesses have begun to collect biometric information from their employees and customers. As lawmakers in other states and in Congress look to enact legislation to protect biometric privacy rights, their drafting choices may be informed by three recent Seventh Circuit decisions analyzing when a plaintiff alleging a violation of the Biometric Information Privacy Act has, or has not, established Article III standing as required to proceed …

Biometric Data Regulation And The Right Of Publicity: A Path To Regaining Autonomy Over Our Commodified Identity, Lisa Raimondi

University of Massachusetts Law Review

This Note explores how a right of publicity action might be used to address present day concerns regarding biometric data ownership rights where an individual’s likeness can essentially be bought and sold. As social networking and use of the internet has grown, so has the opportunity for people to engage with others and share their lives. However, that opportunity also comes with risk. More and more, people are required to accept the terms of use and privacy policies detailing how their biometric data will be collected and stored if they want to download and use certain technological applications. Most of …

Bipa: What Does It Stand For?, Paige Smith

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Death-By-Incarceration In Illinois, Joseph Dole

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Food Entrepreneurs And Food Safety Regulation, Nina W. Tarr

Journal of Food Law & Policy

The green wave of environmental advertising among organic food producers, distributors, and retailers begun during the 1990s has become an all-out green tsunami. The organic food market is the fastest growing segment of the American food industry. Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the impact their purchases have on several environmental issues. As a result, those consumers are becoming more aware of their spending power and are willingly altering their buying practices to purchase from companies that emphasize environmental responsibility. In fact, some retailers' inventory is already being scanned for alternative green products by their customers' iPhones because, guess what, …

Who Gets The Pet In The Divorce? Examining A Standard For The New York Legislature To Adopt, Jared Sanders

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act Litigation In Federal Courts: Evaluating The Standing Doctrine In Privacy Contexts, Michael Mcmahon

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Biometric technology, used to identify individuals based on their unchangeable and unique attributes such as fingerprints or facial geometry, has become commonplace in modern life. In Illinois, the use of biometric information by private organizations is regulated by the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (“BIPA”), which came into effect in 2008 as the nation’s first state biometric information privacy statute. BIPA is unique in that it includes a private right of action and provides for recovery of liquidated damages where the statute is violated, which has resulted in plaintiffs bringing steadily increasing numbers of class-action suits under the law. This note …

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 352(A): An Attempted Revival Of The Appellate Oral Argument, Laura Peters

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Though long considered a bedrock of the American legal system, oral argument has steadily lost popularity in appellate courts across the country. Due in large part to ever-increasing caseloads and limited judicial resources, most jurisdictions now favor the expediency of written briefs over oral argument to decide appeals. While written briefs have their place, oral argument offers an inimitable opportunity for lawyers and judges to directly converse. As such, the practice of oral argument at the appellate level should be preserved. The Illinois Supreme Court took a step towards revitalizing appellate oral argument with its revised Rule 352(a). However, the …

On Target? Assessing Gun Sanctuary Ordinances That Conflict With State Law, Sheila Simon

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Filling The Illinois Federal District Court Vacancies, Carl Tobias

Pepperdine Law Review

President Donald Trump repeatedly argues that appellate court appointments constitute his major success. The President and the United States Senate Republican Party majority have established records by approving fifty very conservative, young, and capable appellate court jurists. However, their confirmations have exacted a toll, particularly from the many federal district courts which address seventy-nine unfilled positions in 677 judicial posts. One constructive illustration has been the three Illinois tribunals which confront five pressing openings. The Administrative Office of the United States Courts classifies three as “emergencies,” because the vacant seats have been protracted and involve substantial caseloads. Despite this circumstance, …

Illinois Childcare Parentage Law (R)Evolution, Jeffrey A. Parness

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

State childcare parentage laws, that is, laws designating parents for custody, visitation, parental responsibility allocation, parental decisionmaking and/or support purposes, have evolved dramatically in the past half century. The (r)evolution is due to major changes in both reproductive technologies and human conduct. Yet the (r)evolution is incomplete.

The (r)evolution is especially incomplete in Illinois. Recent statutory amendments in Illinois chiefly reflect the work of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in its 2000 model Uniform Parentage Act, not its 2017 Uniform Parentage Act. The latter better addresses the effects on childcare parentage of the changes in …

A Review Of Retroactivity: Illinois Should Adopt A Modern Child Victims Act, Judith E. Conway, J. Devitt Cooney, Michael C. Cooney, Megan Fahey Monty

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Moving Forward From The Scoop Era: Providing Active Efforts Under The Indian Child Welfare Act In Illinois, Cassandra Crandall

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Comment argues that Illinois should adopt the view that active efforts are a higher standard than reasonable efforts and implement procedures encouraging state agencies and courts to implement these requirements. Following the Supreme Court's rationale in Mississippi Choctaw Band of Indians v. Holyfield, one of the only Supreme Court cases addressing the ICWA, this Comment argues that a uniform definition and application of "active efforts" should exist in every jurisdiction. Furthermore, this Comment emphasizes that "active efforts" require more than "reasonable efforts," and that these standards are different. Part I of this Comment reviews the history of the ICWA. …

Of Dangers, Conditions, Children, And Maturity: A Plea For A Comprehensible Standard In Long-Standing Rules, Maureen Straub Kordesh

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Article explores the common law doctrine of attractive nuisance in Illinois and proposes a more detailed explication of the rule. The doctrine lies in the junction between tort and contract, which might account for the incompleteness of its presentation. It argues that because law students are a significant audience for case law, the language of such rules should be as detailed and clear as possible.

Face Off: An Examination Of State Biometric Privacy Statutes & Data Harm Remedies, Maya E. Rivera

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

As biometric authentication becomes an increasingly popular method of security among consumers, only three states currently have statutes detailing how such data may be collected, used, retained, and released. The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act is the only statute of the three that enshrines a private right of action for those who fail to properly handle biometric data. Both the Texas Capture or Use Biometric Identifier Act Information Act and the Washington Biometric Privacy Act allow for state Attorneys General to bring suit on behalf of aggrieved consumers. This Note examines these three statutes in the context of data security …

Guilty At First Sight: Legislation To Prevent The Misidentification Of Innocent Persons In Illinois, Kaitlyn A. Murphy

Valparaiso University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Question For Another Day: Hooker V. Illinois State Board Of Elections And Its Effect On The Vitality Of Citizen Ballot Initiatives And Redistricting Reform In Illinois, Thomas Q. Ford

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Like most states, Illinois is no stranger to political gerrymandering. Since 2010, redistricting reformers have made repeated efforts to change the way Illinois's political maps are drawn, essentially by minimizing or eliminating the role lawmakers play in the process. Polls show the vast majority of Illinoisans support such a change. Reformers have chosen Illinois's citizen ballot initiative as their vehicle to amend the redistricting process, but every proposed initiative has been struck down in court before reaching voters. Most recently, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a proposed initiative in Hooker v. Illinois State Board of Elections. This Note argues …

Commitment Through Fear: Mandatory Jury Trials And Substantive Due Process Violations In The Civil Commitment Of Sex Offenders In Illinois, Michael Zolfo

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In Illinois, a person deemed a Sexually Violent Person (“SVP”) in a civil trial can be detained indefinitely in treatment facilities that functionally serve as prisons. SVPs are not afforded the right to waive a jury trial, a right that criminal defendants enjoy. This results in SVPs facing juries that treat sex offenders as monsters or sub-humans, due to often sensationalistic media coverage and the use of sex offenders as boogeymen in political campaigns. The lack of a jury trial waiver results in more individuals being deemed SVPs, depriving many of their liberty without the due process of law, a …

Cohabitation In Illinois: The Need For Legislative Intervention, Stefanie L. Ferrari

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Division In The Illinois Appellate Court: What Is The Appropriate Standard Of Review For Alleged Prosecutorial Misconduct During Closing Argument?, Ryan T. Harding

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The Illinois Appellate Court is divided on whether to apply de novo review or an abuse of discretion standard when evaluating alleged prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument. This article concludes that de novo review is the proper standard of review under current Illinois law. However, as a matter of policy, this article recommends that (1) abuse of discretion review should normally apply to the trial court's determination that a defendant was not substantially prejudiced by the State's closing argument; (2) de novo review should apply when the trial court's determination that a defendant was not substantially prejudiced turned on a …

A Lesson From Goodfellas: Why Current Illinois Consideration Based Pension Reform Proposals Still Fail, Lari A. Dierks

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

A More Just System Of Juvenile Justice: Creating A New Standard Of Accountability For Juveniles In Illinois, Brooke Troutman

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology

For over a century, America’s legal system has made substantial reforms to change its treatment of adolescents. Every day, we see that our legal system treats adolescents differently from their adult counterparts. With regards to driving privileges, voting rights, and the ability to drink, our laws recognize that adults and adolescents are different and therefore require a different set of standards. America extended this treatment to the realm of juvenile justice in 1899, when Cook County, Illinois, created the country’s first juvenile court. Originating in this court was the overarching purpose of America’s juvenile justice system—rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. Though …

The Public Pension Crisis Through The Lens Of State Constitutions And Statutory Law, Kristen Barnes

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Persuading A State To Budge It: Benefits, Consequences, And Obstacles To State Budget Default Rules, Margaret Nunne

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The Illinois legislature's budget impasse has led to a series of measures cobbled together to keep the state operational and state employees paid. Late budgets, impasses, and failed budgets lead to government shutdowns. Government shutdowns mean government services can be put at risk, which, in turn, can harm the public. In considering the future, as politicians continue to or refuse to negotiate, default budget rules have been used to some success in other states by preventing a complete shutdown of the state in the face of an impasse. However, the use of the rule can cause different problems and may …

Modernizing Illinois State Government: Transcript Of Press Conference Announcing Creation Of A Central Panel And Copy Of Executive Order, Bruce Rauner

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

A Return To The Crossroads: Farming, Nutrient Loss, And Conservation, Jonathan Coppess

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contact That Can Kill: Orders Of Protection, Caller Id Spoofing And Domestic Violence, Gabriella Sneeringer

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The Illinois Domestic Violence Act (IDVA) was created as a means of providing protection and remedies to domestic violence victims through orders of protection. The orders of protection can insulate victims from abusers through a variety of ways such as mandating that the abuser be prohibited from contacting the victim by any means. Under the IDVA, any violation of the order is a crime. As technology advances, abusers begin using more and more technology as a means to circumscribe orders of protection. One such technology, Caller ID spoofing, is particularly problematic. This technology enables abusers to easily contact, stalk and …

Restrictive Covenants In Illinois: Adequate Consideration Problems Show That The Common Law Is An Inadequate Solution, David S. Repking

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Illinois courts have long dealt with whether restrictive covenants, specifically non-compete clauses, can and should be enforced when they involve employees of businesses. Many aspects of restrictive covenants have been litigated, but a recent Illinois Appellate Court case analyzed the issue of what is adequate consideration in order to enforce a restrictive covenant against a former employee. The First District in Fifield v. Premier Dealer Services, Inc., affirmed a bright-line, two-year rule for deciding how long an employee must work for an employer before a re-strictive covenant can be enforced.

The two-year rule protects employees because an employer cannot …