Effort to end intrastate forum non conveniens is bad news

For the Defense

By Donald P. Eckler

Donald “Pat” Eckler is a partner at Pretzel & Stouffer focusing on professional liability defense, insurance coverage litigation, and general tort defense. He is the legislative chair of the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel. His views are his own and not those of his firm or its clients.

Posted March 12, 2020 10:52 AM

Often neglected or forgotten altogether, oaths are fundamental to the American system of government.The judicial system, in particular, relies on oaths. Attorneys, judges, court reporters, jurors and witnesses all take oaths of one kind or another. Article XIII, Section 3, of the Illinois Constitution provides that every Illinois elected official take an oath to support and defend both the federal and the Illinois Constitution.The structure of American constitutions, both state and federal, relies on a separation of powers …

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Prosecutor suspended for inappropriate comments

Accused of violating an Iowa rule that says it is professional misconduct for an attorney to “engage in sexual harassment or other unlawful discrimination in the practice of law,” the top prosecutor in Wapello County argued that comments he allegedly made to his staff about defendants, judges and his predecessor were protected by his First Amendment right to free speech.
By Steven P. Garmisa
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Trial-setting preference law deserves to be protected

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