Judicial Rulings
Illinois Supreme Court
The court affirmed a Cook County circuit court ruling that a complaint charging the director of the Department of Local Government Affairs with overstating the tax multiplier should be dismissed. Plaintiff sought a recomputation of the tax multiplier and school aid shares based on the multiplier from 1969 to 1971 in Cook County. (See July, Judicial Rulings, Hamer v. Kirk.)
Refund marijuana fines
People v. Meyerowitz—People v. Weintraub et al., decided June 1975
Persons convicted of illegal possession of marijuana before Oct. 5, 1971, should be given a full refund of their fines and should have their probations ended.
The decision of the court involved eight defendants convicted under a statute declared unconstitutional by the court in 1971 in People v. McCabe. Later the General Assembly adopted a similar law with less severe penalties. The defendants filed a motion based on McCabe, asking that the plea of the guilty and conviction be terminated, and that any fines and costs be refunded. The appellate court granted all but full refund of the fines.
The Supreme Court majority ruled that the fines were not paid voluntarily, but were a condition of probation and that the fines already paid should be refunded in full under a retroactive application.
Chief Justice Underwood and Justice Ryan dissented, arguing that payment of refunds would impose an unnecessary burden on counties.
Allows welfare back payments
Burl Campbell v. Department of Public Aid Aid et al., decided June 1975
Retroactive welfare payments must be made to persons on welfare whose aid was improperly cut off.
Old age assistance recipient Burl Campbell of Chicago successfully appealed when his allowance for housekeeping services was cut off due to an administrative error in 1970. The circuit court of Cook County had ordered the resumption of payments but denied he should be paid for 16 months of aid not paid him as a result of the mistake. The Supreme Court ruled he should receive the back payments.
Illegitimate heirs
Sodermark v. Karas—Collins v. Wheeler, decided June 1975
Illegitimate children may not inherit from their fathers who die without a will. The high court rejected arguments made in two Cook County cases that the state probate statute is unconstitutional on the grounds that it discriminates on the basis of sex. State law allows illegitimate children to inherit from their mothers or maternal relatives when no will has been made.
"We are unwilling to decide that all classifications based upon sex require that the State establish a compelling governmental interest under the Federal equal protection clause," said Justice Kluczynski in writing the unanimous opinion. If either father had wished, he could have provided for his illegitimate child using "the simple formalities of a will."
Lender interest penalties OK'd
Baker v. Loves Park Savings and Loan Association, decided June 1975
If the borrower transfers the property under a mortgage without permission of the lender, lending institutions may charge reasonably additional interest on mortgages—usually termed a penalty.
"In addition to the covenant not to sell the property without the consent of the mortgagee, the mortgage contains several other covenants.... A breach of any of these covenants may bring about the increased interest charges," the court declared unanimously.
The additional interest is not considered a penalty by the court, but as liquidated damages accruing day to day for the duration of the default and which the borrower may relieve himself of at any time.
Used car dealer not liable
Peterson v Lou Bachrodt Chevrolet company. decided June 1975
The seller of a used car with defective parts may not be held strictly liable for injuries which result from an auto accident caused by the defective conditions of the car.
The court said state law (Ill. Rev. 1973, ch. 121 '/2, par. 2626) does not the dealer liable for any cost of repairs car is more than four years old. "No intimations of an expanded public policy concerning a used car dealer's responsibility for the condition of the car he sells can be drawn from the severely restrictive provisions of this statute," said Justice Schaefer writing the majority opinion.
Search warrant is good statewide
People v. Carnivale. decided June 1975
A search warrant may be used anywhere in the state, even if it is issued for use with in a city limit. "Limiting the authority of a peace officer to the territorial limits of his own city or county needlessly hampers and unnecessarily delays execution of the warrant which must be executed within the time prescribed by statute," according to Justice Ryan, who delivered the opinion of the court.
Federal District Court
A three-judge panel in Federal District Court, Chicago, ruled two Illinois laws unconstitutional because they allow cancellation of primary elections by election boards when only one candidate from each party is running (Ill. Rev. Slat.. ch. 46, sees. 7-5 and 7-12).
The unanimous opinion came in the case of a civil rights suit filed by Father Francis X. Lawlor, who had attempted to run for Congress in the 5th District as an independent, only to find that the primary had bees cancelled by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. The board had ruled Lawlor and two other candidates off the ballot for allegedly filing incorrect petitions,
State not liable for fraud scheme
Equity Funding Corporation of America Securities litigation multi-district litigation, Docket 142
Judge Malcolm M. Lucas ruled in a federal district court case in Southern California May 12 that Illinois is not liable for damages incurred in the Equity Funding Life Insurance Co. scandal.
Total losses in the computer fraud scheme could go as high as $2 billion, much of which the state would have had to pay out in claims if the court had not ruled as it did.
Attorney General William J. Scott argued the case for Illinois and California, and said afterward that the ruling averted a potentially disastrous situation for Illinois finances.
The major issue in the case was whether states could be held liable for investors' losses due to improper licensing. The Illinois Department of Insurance gave permission the Equity insurance firm, based in Elmhurst, to move its records to Beverly Hills. Calif. It was there that the swindle was carried out.
252/Illinois Issues/August 1975