State Farm, Judicial Elections, Integrity and Recusal

In 2011, Chicago Appleseed, with assistance from pro bono attorneys at DLA Piper filed an amicus brief in the Illinois Supreme Court case, Avery v. State Farm. We took no position on the merits of the case, which involved a consumer dispute over replacement parts for insured cars damaged in crashes,...
March 10, 2015

Merit Selection and Judicial Elections

With oral arguments in Williams-Yulee before the Supreme Court earlier this year, attention has once again focused on the impact of money in judicial campaigns. The question of how judges can remain impartial looms large when judges must stand for general election or receive a sufficient number of v...
January 29, 2015

Chicago Appleseed & Chicago Council of Lawyers Join in Amicus Brief

Chicago Appleseed and Chicago Council of Lawyers are signatories on an amicus brief submitted in Williams-Yulee vs. Florida Bar before the Supreme Court this term. We join 9 other state and local nonpartisan organizations committed to creating and maintaining an ethical judicial system and promoting...
December 22, 2014

The Supreme Court Looks at Judicial Campaign Fundraising

On October 2, 2014, the Supreme Court granted cert in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar, examining the constitutionality under the First Amendment of a state ethical rule barring candidates for state judicial posts from personally soliciting campaign donations. Lanell Williams-Yulee was a candidate...
October 22, 2014

Judicial Elections

Early voting has already started in Cook County and there are 101 judicial races: 27 vacancies, 73 retention elections and 1 new judicial seat. Voteforjudges.org—a non-partisan website founded by Chicago Appleseed and sponsored by the Committee to Elect Qualified Judges—collects the judicial evalua...
October 21, 2014