Kara Sears
Illinois is divided into five appellate districts, with cases decided by the Appellate Court only binding within the district in which they were issued. Cases from other districts may be persuasive but are not binding. The Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in the state and is responsible for resolving conflicts between districts. The Illinois Supreme Court has mandatory jurisdiction in capital cases and cases involving the constitutionality of laws, as well as discretionary jurisdiction for cases on appeal from the Illinois Appellate Court. The Illinois Appellate Court affirms the trial court's decision if there has been no error in the application of the law or if the error was minimal. It may reverse the decision or order a new trial if there has been a substantive error.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of appellate districts in Illinois | 5 |
| Counties in the 1st District | Cook County |
| Court with mandatory jurisdiction in capital cases and cases where the constitutionality of laws has been called into question | Illinois Supreme Court |
| Official publication of the Illinois Supreme Court | Illinois Reports |
| Year Illinois Supreme Court ceased publication of official reports | 2011 |
| Current method of publishing Illinois Supreme Court opinions | Online |
| Official style manual produced by the Illinois Courts | Style Manual for the Supreme and Appellate Courts of Illinois (Fifth Edition, 2017) |
| Official publication of the Illinois Appellate Court | Illinois Appellate Court Reports |
| Year Illinois Appellate Court ceased publication of opinions in print | 2014 |
| Official reporter for Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Appellate Court decisions | North Eastern Reporter |
| Official website for rules of the Illinois Supreme Court | Illinois Courts website |
| Official website for rules of the Illinois Appellate Court | Illinois Courts website |
| Official website for rules of the Illinois Circuit Courts | Individual courts' websites |
| Number of justices in the Illinois Supreme Court | 7 |
| Number of judicial circuits in the State of Illinois | 25 |
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What You'll Learn
Illinois is split into five appellate districts
Illinois is divided into five appellate districts, with Cook County comprising the First District. The remaining four districts cover the rest of Illinois. The Illinois Appellate Court has 52 judges serving these five districts. The majority of the judges (18 in the First District, and between seven and nine in each of the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Districts) are elected, with the remaining judges appointed by the Supreme Court of Illinois. The First District is based in Chicago and hears cases arising in Cook County. It is divided into six divisions, each with four different judges. The Second District is based in Elgin and hears cases arising in 13 counties in northern Illinois. The Third District is based in Ottawa and hears cases arising in 21 counties in central Illinois. The Fourth District is based in Springfield and hears cases appealed from trial courts in 41 counties. The Fifth District is based in Mount Vernon and hears cases arising in 37 counties in southern Illinois.
Each district represents a particular geographical region. Judges are elected to the courts for renewable 10-year terms in partisan elections. The appellate court districts review transcripts of the trial and briefs filed by interested parties and consider oral arguments from lawyers to determine if the law was correctly applied by the trial court. In addition to resolving the specific case before it, rulings by each appellate district set a precedent for the circuit courts in their geographic region on the proper way to apply Illinois law.
Cases decided by the Appellate Court are only binding within the district in which they were issued. Cases cited from other districts may be persuasive but are not binding on the court. The Illinois Supreme Court has the responsibility of resolving any conflicts between Districts. The Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in the State and is the final court of determination. It has limited original jurisdiction and has final appellate jurisdiction. It has mandatory jurisdiction in capital cases and cases where the constitutionality of laws has been called into question.
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Illinois Supreme Court resolves conflicts between districts
The Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. It is responsible for the state's trial courts and one appellate court with five districts. The Illinois Appellate Court is divided into five judicial districts, with Cook County comprising the First Judicial District. The rest of the state is divided into the remaining four judicial districts of "substantially equal population, each of which shall be compact and composed of contiguous counties."
Any party has the right to appeal a decision of the Circuit Court to the Appellate Court, except the State's Attorney, who cannot appeal a verdict of not guilty. Attorneys present arguments to the Appellate Court about whether the trial court made an error in applying the law. They do not relitigate the facts of the original trial. The Appellate Court affirms the trial court decision if it finds there has been no error committed in the application of the law, or if the error was so minimal that it made little difference in the outcome of the trial.
The Illinois Supreme Court has the responsibility of resolving any conflicts between Districts. Cases decided by the Appellate Court are only binding within the district in which they were issued. Cases cited from other districts may be persuasive, but they are not binding on the court. In the relatively rare case of a district split over the same or similar issues, the assigned district will be solely mandatory or binding over the circuit courts within that district.
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Illinois Appellate Court decisions before 1935 are not binding
In Illinois, the Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in the State. Cases are usually channelled to the Supreme Court from the Appellate Court. However, in cases where a death sentence has been imposed by the Circuit Court, the law allows for a direct appeal to the Supreme Court, bypassing the Appellate Court. The Supreme Court can also pass rules to allow direct appeals in other cases.
The Illinois Appellate Court is divided into five judicial districts, with Cook County comprising the First District, and the rest of the state divided into four other judicial districts of "substantially equal population, each of which shall be compact and composed of contiguous counties." The Illinois Appellate Court has fifty-four judges serving these five districts, with administrative centres in Chicago (1st District), Elgin (2nd District), Ottawa (3rd District), Springfield (4th District), and Mt. Vernon (5th District).
Illinois Appellate Court decisions issued before the Illinois Courts Act of 1935 are not mandatory or binding, but only persuasive on the Illinois Circuit Courts. This is because, as of 1935, decisions of the Illinois Appellate Court became binding authority upon lower courts in Illinois.
The Illinois Supreme Court has the responsibility of resolving any conflicts between the Districts.
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Illinois Circuit Court opinions are hard to find
In Illinois, there are 25 judicial circuits, each comprising one or more contiguous counties. Each judicial circuit has a circuit court, also known as a trial court.
Illinois is divided into five appellate districts, with Cook County comprising the First District, and the rest of the state divided into four other judicial districts. Cases decided by the Illinois Appellate Court are only binding within the district in which they were issued.
The Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. It is the court of final determination and has mandatory jurisdiction in capital cases and cases where the constitutionality of laws has been called into question. The Illinois Supreme Court has the responsibility of resolving any conflicts between the five districts.
Illinois Circuit Court opinions are not readily available to the public. They are often only available by visiting the respective county courthouse, if they are available at all. Civil jury verdicts and settlements are often the best sources for Illinois attorneys to research what has happened at the state trial level.
The Illinois Supreme Court publishes its opinions on its website, as well as in the Illinois Reports (official publication – KFI 1245 .A2). Since July 1, 2011, the Illinois Courts have ceased publication of the official IL Reports and have instead been exclusively publishing their official opinions online. West (a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters) also publishes the Court’s opinions in both the Northeastern Reporter (unofficial – KF 9999 .N6) and Illinois Decisions (unofficial – KFI 1247 .A34).
The Illinois Appellate Court published its opinions in the Illinois Appellate Court Reports (official publication – KFI 1248 .A2) until Fall 2014, when it ceased publication in print. The Illinois Appellate Court Opinions can now be found on the Illinois Courts website.
The rules for the Illinois Supreme Court, as well as the five divisions of the Illinois Appellate Court, can be located on the Illinois Courts website. Rules of the Illinois Circuit Courts will be located on the individual courts' websites.
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Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in the state
The Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. It is the court of final determination, with limited original jurisdiction and final appellate jurisdiction. The Illinois Supreme Court has the responsibility of resolving any conflicts between the five judicial districts that make up the Illinois Appellate Court.
The Illinois Supreme Court has seven justices, three from the First Appellate Judicial District (Cook County) and one from each of the other four districts. The court has mandatory jurisdiction in capital cases and cases where the constitutionality of laws has been called into question. It also has discretionary jurisdiction for cases on appeal from the Illinois Appellate Court.
The Illinois Supreme Court's opinions are published in the Illinois Reports, the official publication of the Court. Since July 1, 2011, the Court has ceased publication of the official Illinois Reports and has instead been exclusively publishing its official opinions online on its website. West (a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters) also publishes the Court's opinions in both the Northeastern Reporter and Illinois Decisions, though these are unofficial reports.
Cases are normally channelled to the Illinois Supreme Court from the Appellate Court. However, in cases where a Circuit Court has imposed a death sentence, the law allows for a direct appeal to the Supreme Court, bypassing the Appellate Court. The Supreme Court can pass rules to allow direct appeals in other cases.
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Frequently asked questions
The Illinois Appellate Court is divided into five judicial districts. Cook County comprises the entire First Judicial District, with the rest of the state being divided into the remaining four judicial districts.
Cases decided by the Appellate Court are only binding within the district in which they were issued. Cases cited from other districts may be persuasive, but they are not binding on the court.
The Illinois Supreme Court is the highest court in the state. It is considered the ultimate judicial authority in Illinois.
Illinois Appellate Court decisions were previously published in the Illinois Appellate Court Reports. Since 2011, however, all decisions of the Illinois Appellate Court are officially published electronically on the court's website.
