Judicial Inquiry Board Caseload Could Get ‘Unmanageable’
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
The panel that investigates alleged judicial misconduct in the state court system is long on complaints and short on members.
That’s according to findings by the Illinois auditor general’s office that show the Judicial Inquiry Board has received more complaints over the years, from about 430 per year about 15 years ago to about 530 per year in fiscal years 2012 and 2013.
Additionally, the nine-member board hasn’t been at full strength since 2006 — short its required non-lawyer appointees — making it difficult to proceed on decisions to either dismiss allegations or prosecute them in the Illinois Courts Commission.
One seat had been vacant for more than two years by the time the audit was concluded at the end of fiscal year 2014. The other had been vacant nearly four years.
Auditor General Bill Holland’s staff noted the board couldn’t provide a category breakdown of the 311 allegations it still had pending at the end of fiscal year 2014. That’s because the board’s staff hadn’t been able to analyze them and the board itself hadn’t made decisions on how to proceed.
Although there’s no deadline on the board’s decision-making for allegations, “the growing inventory level increases the risk the [board's caseload will become unmanageable,” the report says.
Board officials told the auditor’s office that the overall increase is largely due to a higher volume of complaints from incarcerated offenders. Complaints are also taking longer to process because there is more paperwork being sent along with them.
In the report, released last week, the board acknowledged Holland’s recommendation to “seek sufficient resources” to process complaints. But it also pointed out that its budget is in the hands of legislators and the governor.
Gov. Bruce Rauner recently appointed Raymond McGury, who previously served on the panel from 2005 to 2009, to fill one of the vacancies. A spokeswoman for the governor said he plans to fill the other vacancy soon.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
The panel that investigates alleged judicial misconduct in the state court system is long on complaints and short on members.
That’s according to findings by the Illinois auditor general’s office that show the Judicial Inquiry Board has received more complaints over the years, from about 430 per year about 15 years ago to about 530 per year in fiscal years 2012 and 2013.
Additionally, the nine-member board hasn’t been at full strength since 2006 — short its required non-lawyer appointees — making it difficult to proceed on decisions to either dismiss allegations or prosecute them in the Illinois Courts Commission.
One seat had been vacant for more than two years by the time the audit was concluded at the end of fiscal year 2014. The other had been vacant nearly four years.
Auditor General Bill Holland’s staff noted the board couldn’t provide a category breakdown of the 311 allegations it still had pending at the end of fiscal year 2014. That’s because the board’s staff hadn’t been able to analyze them and the board itself hadn’t made decisions on how to proceed.
Although there’s no deadline on the board’s decision-making for allegations, “the growing inventory level increases the risk the [board's caseload will become unmanageable,” the report says.
Board officials told the auditor’s office that the overall increase is largely due to a higher volume of complaints from incarcerated offenders. Complaints are also taking longer to process because there is more paperwork being sent along with them.
In the report, released last week, the board acknowledged Holland’s recommendation to “seek sufficient resources” to process complaints. But it also pointed out that its budget is in the hands of legislators and the governor.
Gov. Bruce Rauner recently appointed Raymond McGury, who previously served on the panel from 2005 to 2009, to fill one of the vacancies. A spokeswoman for the governor said he plans to fill the other vacancy soon.
Read more in our daily News Update...