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Thursday, March 28, 2024

New Reporter of Decisions for Supreme Court was former law clerk to Chief Justice Garman

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The Illinois Supreme Court has a new Reporter of Decisions - Jacob H. Jost.

In the role of Reporter, Jost will be in charge of a staff that ensures accuracy in both citations and style for Supreme and Appellate court opinion publications. 

Jost, who had served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Rita Garman, said his observations of the Court for the past three years was helpful in preparing him for his new position which took effect April 1.

“That was a fairly intimidating experience, interviewing with the Court as a whole, but I did have the benefit of having interacted with a number of them during my time as a law clerk to Chief Justice Garman," Jost said.

Jost comes from a background different from that of the previous Reporter of Decisions, Amy Tomaszewski, who had acquired a degree in library science and had experience as a lawyer and professor. 

He studied Spanish, journalism, and law, and acquired experience in both web and investigative production, was editor-in-chief of the University of Illinois Law Review, a law clerk, summer associate and then spent three years in Garman's office. 

Jost said he believes that his journalism background, along with web publishing experience, provides a new set of skills to the Reporter of Decisions position.

He said he will be involved in the Court's implementation of "C-Track," a new web-based case management system. 

"That system will streamline the ways this office can interact with the chambers of the Supreme Court and the ways this office processes opinions for the appellate court, as well," he said. "In addition to C-Track, I am also moving this office toward a more electronic workflow.”

As Reporter of Decisions, Jost now works at the pleasure of the Supreme Court. 

“I know some of my predecessors have served for nearly 30 years, and I’d be thrilled to have such a tenure," he said. "The Reporter picks up a great deal of very particularized experience over his or her tenure, and I’d like to apply that experience to the Court’s workflow for as long as I am able."

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