Illinois Legal & Judicial System

Guide to
Illinois Law

Illinois' Legal & Judicial System

Illinois' Legal & Judicial System

Illinois' Legal & Judicial System

It may be useful for a person thinking about initiating a legal action to understand the legal and judicial system that exists in Illinois. One of the most confusing aspects of the judicial system is that there are two separate systems: state and federal. The majority of cases are filed in state courts. This chapter discusses the state and federal systems and summarizes the jurisdictions of both. The Process of a Lawsuit Chapter outlines how a case goes through the state civil and criminal process. Claims that arise on Native American lands may be subject to tribal courts and not the state or federal courts.

As one may remember from civics class, there are three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch creates the laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws. Laws also are called statutes or codes. The executive branch can create rules or regulations to govern its administrative procedures and the judicial branch may also interpret these regulations.

When a case is brought before a court, the court applies the law to the facts of the case and a decision is made. There are many sources of law the court uses in making its decision: the Constitutions of both the United States and the State of Illinois, statutes, regulations and prior decisions of its own or of other higher courts (case law). The way in which a higher state court answers a legal question is binding on all other lower courts within that jurisdiction when faced with the same legal question. For example, if the Illinois Supreme Court decides a legal question, all state courts in Illinois must follow that decision. However, state courts in Michigan would not have to follow the Illinois decision because they are in a different jurisdiction.

Representation

Perhaps the first question a businessperson may ask is, "Do I really need a lawyer to handle my legal affairs?" The best answer is almost always yes. Occasionally, a business is able to rely on non-lawyers to handle some legal matters. For example, some companies hire paralegals to draft routine contracts. For most legal matters, however, hiring a lawyer is essential. Obviously, when a business is sued or thinking of bringing a lawsuit, the business should have an attorney representing its interests. In rare instances, a businessperson may be permitted to represent himself or herself. For example, a landlord can appear in small claims court without a lawyer. In the majority of cases, however, a company hires counsel to represent itself and in some cases, must be represented by counsel.

Jurisdiction

When a person decides to file a legal action, he or she must decide in which court system to file the case. The court in which a person files a case depends on which court has jurisdiction over such cases. Jurisdiction determines whether a particular court has the power and authority to decide a case. This is subject matter jurisdiction. If a court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, it may not decide a case. A court also must have personal jurisdiction over the defendant in a case. There are different ways in which a court may have personal jurisdiction, including if a defendant resides or has a business within the court's geographical region. For example, a Illinois plaintiff cannot bring an action in Illinois district court against a defendant who lives and works in another state, if that defendant has no contact with the state of Illinois. Jurisdiction is set in law, constitutions, or case law. It is possible to have courts with overlapping jurisdiction and a person has a choice of in which court to file an action.

There are three types of subject matter jurisdiction: exclusive, general, and limited. Exclusive jurisdiction means that only a particular court can decide a case. An example of exclusive subject matter jurisdiction is bankruptcy court. Only in a federal bankruptcy court can a person file a bankruptcy action. State courts have no jurisdiction in bankruptcy cases. General jurisdiction means that a court has the ability to hear and decide a wide range of cases. Unless a law or constitutional provision denies them jurisdiction, courts of general jurisdiction can handle any kind of case. The Illinois district courts are general jurisdiction courts. Limited jurisdiction means that a court has restrictions on the cases it can decide. Small claims court is a court of limited jurisdiction because it can only hear and decide cases that claim damages of $2,500 or less.

Venue

Venue frequently is confused with jurisdiction. While jurisdiction asks whether a court system has authority to hear a case, venue asks which court within a jurisdiction should hear and decide a case. In Illinois, a case is usually brought in the county in which the claim originates or where one or more defendants resides. For example, if a person is hit by a car in Glen Ellyn, and the car was driven by a person from Chicago, an action against the driver could be filed in either DuPage County (Glen Ellyn) or in Cook County (Chicago). Change of venue can be requested by either of the parties. For example, a corporate defendant in Champaign/Urbana might request a change of venue to Springfield because adverse publicity in Urbana makes it impossible for the corporation to get a fair trial in Champaign/Urbana or because most of its files are located in Springfield. However, the defendant could not request that the trial be moved to Milwaukee, because the Wisconsin court lacks jurisdiction.

State and Federal Courts

As previously mentioned, there are two separate court systems: state and federal. Which court system a person enters depends on a number of factors: whether a court has exclusive jurisdiction over the subject matter of the case, the amount of damages involved, and the locations of the parties in the case.

State Courts

Illinois has three levels to its court system: circuit courts, Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court. The Court of Claims is not in the judicial system, but was created solely to hear claims against the State of Illinois.

Circuit Court

Illinois has divided its 122 counties into 22 judicial circuits. Each judicial circuit is composed of one or more counties. Each circuit court hears cases in each county within its circuit at some time. As previously mentioned, the circuit court has general subject matter jurisdiction and handles a wide variety of cases, both civil and criminal. The circuit courts are courts of original jurisdiction, that is, cases start there. That is where trials are held, witnesses testify, evidence is presented, and judgments are rendered. Small claims court is a division of circuit court and appeals from conciliation court are heard in the Circuit Court. A person who loses a case in circuit court may appeal it. Appeals from circuit court are typically brought to the Illinois Court of Appeals.

Illinois Court of Appeals

There are five districts of the Illinois Appellate Court, each with four to 18 judges. Cook County comprises the whole of the 1st District, and Chicago is the district seat. Elgin is the seat of the 2nd District; Ottawa, the seat of the 3rd District; Springfield, the seat of the 4th District; and Mount Vernon is the seat of the 5th District. Unlike the circuit courts, which hear trials with witnesses, jurors, and evidence, the Appellate Court's primary function is to determine whether there has been an error at the circuit court level, and if so, to remedy it. The Appellate Court reviews the transcript from the circuit court and may also consider written and oral arguments. The Appellate Court can reverse or affirm a circuit court ruling or send it back to the circuit court for additional action. The Appellate Court hears most appeals from the circuit courts unless the law specifically states that a particular appeal goes directly to the Illinois Supreme Court. Appeals from the Appellate Court are sent to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Illinois Supreme Court

The Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. Located in Springfield, it has seven justices. Like the Court of Appeals, it does not hold trials but reviews transcripts, takes written and oral arguments, and determines whether there has been an error at the district court level. It may also reverse, affirm, or remand a case. The Supreme Court is the rule-making body for the state courts and has administrative responsibility for the operation of the state court system. An Illinois Supreme Court decision is a final decision in Illinois and may be appealed to the United States Supreme Court only if there is a federal issue involved.

Federal Courts

The federal court system hears both civil and criminal cases and is also broken down into three levels. There are generally three ways a case can be filed in federal court: the case involves a federal law, the case raises a question of United States Constitution interpretation, or the case involves parties from more than one state and the amount in question is more than $50,000. The federal government has divided the United States into federal judicial districts. The state of Illinois makes up three judicial districts, designated as the Northern, Central and Southern districts. The Northern District's main office is in Chicago, with an additional location in Rockford. The Central District has offices in Rock Island, Danville and Peoria, with its main office in Springfield. The Southern District has its main office in East St. Louis, with an additional location in Benton. Like the state circuit courts, the federal district court holds trials on issues over which it has jurisdiction. Appeals from the federal district court go to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Included in the federal system is the bankruptcy court. Federal bankruptcy courts have exclusive jurisdiction over bankruptcy matters. There are U.S. bankruptcy courts in Chicago, Danville, Peoria, Rockford, Benton, Springfield, and East St. Louis.

The federal government groups the United States' federal judicial districts into circuits, and each circuit has a court of appeals. Illinois is in the Seventh Circuit along with Indiana and Wisconsin. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals hears the appeals from federal district courts within the circuit. As in the Illinois Court of Appeals, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals does not try cases, but only reviews cases from lower courts within the circuit. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has its main office in Chicago. Appeals from the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals are heard at the United States Supreme Court.

The United States Supreme Court hears appeals from the circuit courts of appeal and states' supreme courts, and other cases in which it has jurisdiction--cases between states, for example. The court is made up of nine justices and is based in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court has very broad discretion to decide which cases it will review and only a small percentage of the cases appealed to the United States Supreme Court are actually heard. As with other appellate courts, the refusal to hear an appeal lets stand the lower court's ruling.