Will County, Illinois
The Illinois Supreme Court has established rules of procedure for the Circuit Courts, the Appellate Courts, and the Chief Judges of each Circuit to follow, if they are to comply with lawful authority.
Should the judges of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court (Will County) or the Chief Judge establish any local rules, these rules must comply with Supreme Court Rule 21. These rules must be uniform throughout the state and a copy must be filed within 10 days with the Administrative Director of the Illinois Supreme Court.
It has been brought to the attention of CLR that local rules have been issued, or at least enforced, that have never been published in the local rules of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court (Will County), have never been posted to the 12th Judicial Circuit Court (Will County) website, nor have been filed with the Administrative Director of the Illinois Supreme Court. in direct violation of Supreme Court Rules.
The actions of the Chief Judge Stephen D. White of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court (Will County) demonstrates a lack of respect for the Illinois Supreme Court, and in particular, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court Robert Thomas, who represents this Court in the Illinois Supreme Court, and to the citizens of Will County.
If Chief Judge Stephen D. White was properly administering his judicial circuit, he would be monitoring the conduct of the judges in his circuit. He would have, and should have reviewed the conduct, or rather misconduct, of one of his judges. Apparently he was too busy showing his disdain for the Illinois judiciary.
It has been brought to CLR's attention that an indigent litigant had to get into a shouting match with Chief Judge White, when the litigant properly and lawfully requested an Order to Sue or Defend as an Indigent Person, because judge White did not issue such an order. Chief Judge Stephen D. White finally issued the order. While we can understand that sometimes a person, who is not qualified to be declared an indigent, may file a request for such an order, judge White must be certain that the person is so qualified.
However, by delaying an indigent person to his/her Constitutionally-protected right to access the court in a timely manner, the indigent person is unnecessarily exposed to having his response defaulted. In doing so, judge White has denied the indigent person, and/or has placed obstacles in the path of the indigent person from obtaining, his Constitutionally-protected right to access the court under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and judge Stephen D. White has violated the Supreme Law of the Land.
As stated above, a
judge is elected Chief Judge, when he cannot properly perform his duties
as a judge.
judge White, why does the Circuit Court of Will County discriminate against the indigent in other ways? In other circuits, a party litigant, or in fact, any member of the public, may access a listing of the documents filed in any case over the Internet, without any charge. But in Will County, the party must pay a substantial fee to access the court listing. This fee discriminates against the indigent, as the indigent person is unable to afford such fee, otherwise the party would not be indigent. An indigent person, even one without a computer, could access the court file at a local public library anywhere in the County. But Will County forces the party to travel from wherever he lives in Will County, to Joliet, thus making the indigent party even more indigent, at today's cost of transportation.
Court records are public records. Let's make them easily available to the public.
Copyright© 2007 by Citizens for Legal Responsibility®.
All rights reserved.
email: clr@clr.org
Posted June 28, 2007
This page was last updated on October 9, 2007