THE ILLINOIS APPELLATE COURTS-ARE THEY SATISFACTORY?

Authors

Abstract

The instantaneous answer of "Yes" to this question was given by every Illinois attorney the writer asked while gathering material for this article, and undoubtedly that would be the answer of an overwhelming percentage of the Illinois Bar. In the Constitutional Convention of 1920 in Illinois, not one of the fifty odd lawyer members ever questioned their expediency in all the debates on the judiciary article. And much can, of course, be said in their favor. They relieve the supreme court of a great burden of work. They are closer at hand than the supreme court to most of the Bar when one wishes to appeal. The extra costs of all kinds are born by the litigants or the general public and, except in cases handled on a contingent fee basis, never by the attorneys themselves. But the real question is, do the appellate courts return to the general public full value for their extra cost? If they are not doing so, some better method for handling appeals ought to be found, and if the profession does not provide a solution for the problem the public will perhaps abolish them without establishing any adequate substitute. For no one doubts that as at present constituted, the Illinois supreme court could not handle the huge volume of legal business that would come to it if there were no intermediate courts to relieve it of part of the burden.

Recommended Citation

THE ILLINOIS APPELLATE COURTS-ARE THEY SATISFACTORY?, 27 Mich. L. Rev. 794 (1929).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol27/iss7/6