The Tennessee Model for Judicial Disqualification

A robust, transparent, and meaningful recusal process empowers judges and litigants. Clear standards in the code of judicial conduct (or “judicial canon”) keep judges informed of their responsibilities and the boundaries of their activities, while leaving them latitude to remain independent. Where t...
June 20, 2013

Policy Brief on Judicial Evaluations

Since 2010, the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice has managed a Pilot Project for judicial evaluation: the Judicial Performance Commission of Cook County. This demonstration project explores the feasibility of using the performance commission model to evaluate judicial retention candidates to posit...
May 28, 2013

CCL & Chicago Appleseed in the News on Judicial Elections

WGN, the Chicago Tribune and Medill Watchdog have begun a series of investigations into the judicial elections process. The integrity of the judicial elections process is an important research concern at Chicago Appleseed, as is the overall quality of our judiciary and the investigators spoke to our...
May 22, 2013

Help Where it is Needed

Chicago Appleseed, with pro bono assistance from attorneys at Skadden Arps, has been evaluating recent changes to the parentage court. We’ve met with practitioners, court-personnel and legal aid attorneys familiar with the parentage court before and after it moved into the Daley Center, as well as b...
April 11, 2013

Filling Judicial Vacancies

The Chicago Tribune has reported that Justice Freeman of the Illinois Supreme Court has appointed his long-time law clerk, Jean Cocozza, to a vacancy in the Circuit Court. The Tribune reports that Judge Cocozza has no courtroom experience and that she was not evaluated for judicial service by any in...
March 12, 2013