7th Judicial Circuit Court, Morgan County, Illinois Document Format Requirements

CRITICALCivil cases

Attorneys seeking appointment as a guardian ad litem must apply in writing to the designated judge.

WHEREAS, Attorneys seeking appointment as a guardian ad litem in matters involving allocation of parental responsibilities shall apply in writing to the Presiding Judge of each county or, for Sangamon County, Chief of the Family Division.

CRITICALCivil cases

An appeal from removal must be submitted in writing to the Chief Judge within ten days.

A removed guardian ad litem, child representative, or attorney for children may appeal the decision in writing within ten (10) days to the Chief Judge who shall decide the appeal after allowing the individual an opportunity to be heard.

CRITICAL

An appeal of a denial or removal from the court-approved list must be in writing.

An applicant denied inclusion on or removed from the court-approved list may appeal the decision in writing within ten (10) days to the Chief Judge or his/her designee.

CRITICAL

Media personnel must demonstrate equipment compliance to the judge reasonably in advance, obtain advance judicial approval, and have all equipment and personnel in place at least 15 minutes before the proceeding.

It shall be the duty of media personnel to demonstrate to the judge reasonably in advance of the proceeding that the equipment sought to be used meets the criteria set forth in this section. Failure to obtain advance judicial approval for equipment may preclude its use in the proceeding. All media equipment and personnel shall be in place at least fifteen minutes prior to the scheduled time of commencement of the proceeding.

CRITICAL

The proposed resolution of the mediated issues will be documented in a written summary.

The proposed resolution of the mediated issues will be documented in a written summary.

CRITICAL

Remote hearing participants, including attorneys and testifying witnesses, must appear by video and audio with their cameras on.

Video and Audio: Any person participating in the remote hearing, whether an attorney or a witness testifying, must appear by both video and audio. The camera must be turned on so the judge can see the attorney and/or witness;

WARNING

Reasonable precautions should ensure that a witness’s testimony and appearance are free from interruptions and distractions.

There will be no interruptions or distractions for the duration of the witness's testimony and appearance at the remote hearing.

WARNING

Audio equipment must be unobtrusive and technically adequate; changes to existing systems require the presiding judge's approval, cannot be made at public expense, and counsel and judge microphones must have power switches.

Microphones, wiring and audio recording equipment shall be unobtrusive and shall be of adequate technical quality to prevent interference with the covered judicial proceedings. Any changes in existing audio systems must be approved by the presiding judge. No modifications of existing systems shall be made at public expense. Microphones for use of counsel and judges shall be equipped with power switches to facilitate compliance with subsections 1.2(e) and (f) of this policy.

WARNING

Still cameras and lenses must be unobtrusive and must not produce distracting light or sound.

Still cameras and lenses must be unobtrusive without distracting light or sound.

WARNING

Television cameras and related courtroom equipment must be unobtrusive in size and appearance and must not produce distracting sound or light.

Television cameras, together with any related equipment to be located in the courtroom, must be unobtrusive in both size and appearance, without distracting sound or light.

WARNING

Attorneys must wear appropriate business attire for court appearances, and parties should wear business-casual attire if possible.

Business Attire: For court appearances, whether in-person or remote hearings, attorneys shall dress in appropriate business attire (i.e., suits, sport coats and ties, pantsuits, dresses, and skirts). At a minimum, the parties should also dress in business-casual if possible.

WARNING

Flashbulbs and other artificial light devices are prohibited, but existing courtroom light sources may be modified with judicial approval if the modifications are installed and maintained without public expense.

Other than light sources already existing in the courtroom, no flashbulbs or other artificial light device of any kind shall be employed in the courtroom. With the approval of the judge, however, modifications may be made in light sources existing in the courtroom (e.g., higher wattage light bulbs), provided modifications are installed and maintained without public expense.

WARNING

All remote hearing participants must be in an environment free of video and audio distractions.

Environment: All participants must be in an environment free of video and/or audio distractions;

WARNING

The initial case management order must be in a form consistent with Appendix A.

At the conclusion of the initial case management conference, the parties shall submit to the court a completed initial case management order in a form consistent with Appendix A to these rules, which shall provide, at a minimum, the following:

WARNING

The final pre-trial memorandum must substantially comply with Appendix B1 when there are children and Appendix B2 when there are no children.

Prior to the commencement of trial, the parties shall present to the court a final pre-trial memorandum, which includes, at a minimum, the following, in a form that substantially complies with Appendix B1 (with children) and Appendix B2 (without children).

WARNING

Attorneys and parties shall also advise their witnesses to dress in

Attorneys and parties shall also advise their witnesses to dress in

WARNING

A remote hearing participant must mute their microphone when not speaking.

When a participant is not speaking, the participant shall mute his or her microphone;

WARNING

Equipment used during extended coverage must not use a light or signal visible or audible to participants to indicate whether it is operating.

No light or signal visible or audible to participants in the proceeding shall be used on any equipment during extended coverage to indicate whether it is operating.

WARNINGCivil cases

Individuals seeking court appointment as family mediators must submit their applications in writing.

WHEREAS, individuals seeking court appointment as a family mediator shall apply in writing and have received training or shall possess such experience to be equivalent to such training as required by the Chief Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit.

WARNING

Courtroom equipment used during judicial proceedings must be unobtrusive and must not produce distracting sound.

Equipment to be used in courtrooms during judicial proceedings must be unobtrusive and must not produce distracting sound.

WARNING

Witnesses should review and have appropriately identified copies of relevant documents, and may refer to or read from them only when instructed; the preparation provision does not apply to cross-examination or adverse-witness materials.

The witness should have recently read all affidavits, statements, and documents before the remote hearing and have a copy of those documents with them and identified in the same matter as the documents are filed with the clerk. (Note: The witness will only be allowed to refer to and/or read from said documents when instructed to do so.) This provision is not mandatory for materials to be used in cross examination or in the examination of an adverse witness.

WARNING

The witness is alone in a secure room with the doors closed.

The witness is alone in a secure room with the doors closed.

WARNING

All persons must use their real names, not aliases, while online.

All persons must use their real names (not aliases) while online to ensure they will not be prevented from entering the hearing;

INFO

The approved forms may be completed by handwriting or typing into the PDF form.

The forms are ADA accessible, and you can handwrite or type into the PDF form.

INFOCivil cases

Requests for the circuit's list of certified family mediators must be made in writing.

NOW THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, that a list of certified mediators approved to serve as a Family Mediator before courts of the Seventh Judicial Circuit shall be maintained by the Office of the Chief Judge and made available by request in writing.

INFOCivil cases

A request for an approved-attorney list must be made in writing.

NOW THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, that a list of approved attorneys to appoint as a guardian ad litem before courts of the Seventh Judicial Circuit shall be maintained by individual counties and made available by request in writing.

INFO

If feasible, the Court may resolve an objection by allowing the objecting party to attend the noticed hearing in person.

If any party objects to conducting the noticed hearing remotely or to the platform designated, that party, as soon as practicable, shall file the party's objection in writing and notice the objection for hearing before the noticed remote hearing. If feasible, the Court may resolve the objection by allowing the objecting party to attend the noticed hearing in-person.