With two appellate court seats up for grabs next year at the Fifth District Appellate Court, so far just two candidates outside the Metro-East have announced their intentions to run. Second Judicial Circuit Court Judge Jo Beth Weber, resident judge in Jefferson County, will be running on the Democratic ticket for the seat that James Wexstten vacated in January 2014.
MOUNT VERNON – Victims of bid rigging in the Madison County courthouse can pursue a class action, Fifth District appellate judges decided on Aug. 17. Justices Richard Goldenhersh and Bruce Stewart denied a petition from the county to review a class certification order from the county’s circuit court. Justice James Moore would have granted review. Clinton County Associate Judge William Becker, presiding in Madison County by special appointment, certified the class action in June. Plaintiffs c
MOUNT VERNON – Disputes over profits from video gaming belong at the Illinois Gaming Board rather than in courts, Fifth District appellate judges ruled on Aug. 7. On their own motion they dismissed a Madison County suit for lack of jurisdiction, after both sides told them the suit belonged in court.
Tucked away in the vaults of Illinois' five appellate courts, most decisions arrived at by justices barely see the light of day. Illinois Supreme Court "Rule 23" maintains that non-precedential rulings, the vast majority of those delivered, need only be distributed to litigants and the trial court.