In November, voters in the 37 southern-most Illinois counties will elect a replacement for retired Justice Melissa Chapman, a Democrat who served at the Fifth District Appellate Court from 2001 until October 2019.
The Record asked candidates seeking the Chapman vacancy to answer a few questions before the upcoming March 17 primary election.
Republicans Mark Boie, a justice serving by temporary appointment to the Fifth District, and attorney Katherine Ruocco will square off in the GOP primary. The winner will go on to challenge Democrat Sarah Smith, an elected circuit court judge in Madison County running unopposed in the primary.
Boie provided the following:
Explain your reason for seeking election to the Fifth District Appellate Court
I believe that my extensive experience as both a circuit and appellate court judge provides me with the legal traits necessary to serve on the Appellate Court. I am a lifelong resident of Southern Illinois and believe that my personal upbringing and background taught me integrity, fairness and to possess the proper demeanor that is needed on the bench. These personal traits have been honed and expanded during my experience as a judge. I am seeking this elected position to make a long-term commitment to maintain my impartiality, independence, common sense, Southern Illinois values, and most importantly, my vast experience and oath to support the Constitution, on the Appellate Court for the citizens of Southern Illinois.
I am the candidate that possesses the knowledge and experience necessary to effectively and competently hear and decide cases on the Appellate Court. I have over 19 years' experience on both the Circuit and Appellate Courts hearing all types of cases and have proven myself to be the only candidate sufficiently qualified for the position. I believe that I am respected by the citizens, my judicial colleagues and the attorneys that appear before me. I am honored to be the only candidate in this Republican primary race to be rated by the Illinois State Bar Association Committee on Judicial Evaluations as “Highly Recommended.”
How has your experience prepared you for serving as appellate court justice?
Prior to becoming a judge, I was in private practice with my father, Wesley L. Boie, in Anna, Illinois. In November 2000, I was elected the Resident Circuit Judge of Union County and have been fortunate to be retained by the voters to that position in 2006, 2012 and 2018. I was the presiding judge overseeing the judicial system of the county and managing the administrative duties of the office.
I presided over the various dockets for the county, including the civil, family, juvenile, mental health, traffic, small claims and criminal dockets. I conducted hundreds of contested hearings and bench trials, as well as dealing with high-volume court calls. I presided over numerous criminal and civil jury trials and was assigned to hear the traffic, small claims and conflicts dockets in Massac County from 2000 to 2014. I was also assigned to hear cases throughout the entire First Judicial Circuit.
Effective May 1, 2019, I was assigned to serve on the Fifth District Appellate Court by then Chief Justice Lloyd Karmeier and was unanimously approved by the Illinois Supreme Court. Since then I have sat in panels hearing the various appeals brought from the 37 counties of the District and authored numerous orders and opinions for the cases assigned to me.
I serve on a Special Supreme Court Advisory Committee that promulgates the standards, application, certification and review process for the various problem-solving courts in Illinois. I also serve as the Co-Chairman of its Compliance-Mental Health Sub-Committee and worked in drafting uniform orders to be utilized in mental health cases. I also worked in drafting Supreme Court Rule 293 involving jury trials in involuntary commitment hearings and Rule 296 involving the use of restraints in court proceedings under the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code.
I am a faculty presenter at the Judicial Education Conference and was a First Judicial Circuit Mentor for new judges.
How would you describe your judicial philosophy?
I took an oath to support the Constitutions of the State of Illinois and the United States of America. I will follow the law in reviewing and deciding the appeals that come before me. I will continue to fairly and impartially decide cases using my legal knowledge and experience along with my values and common sense.
Do you believe that our judicial system in the Fifth Judicial District adequately deters and penalizes frivolous litigation and "venue shopping?" If not, what reforms would you like to see? Or, if you do not agree with the premise of the question, please explain.
These issues routinely come before the Appellate Court. Unfortunately, we are preempted from discussing issues that may come before us.