agencies active in proposing changes in the laws, have through bringing their influence to bear on the general assembly, been of great value in improving the character of the legislative output.46 The Legislative Voters League has been of great service in exposing legislative methods to public view and in publishing the records of legislators for the information of

voters.

It is doubtless true that, within recent decades, the confidence of the people in the general assembly has been at a low ebb, as indicated by the numerous limitations placed on the legislature in the present constitution. Many incidents and much legislation may also be cited which seem, at first sight, to justify this lack of confidence. Such instances, however, should not be allowed to blind the people of the state to the really good and substantial work which the legislature has accomplished in many lines in spite of the very considerable difficulties under which it operates. The release of the legislature from such difficulties and restrictions would probably enable it to do still better work.

46 Cf. MacChesney, "A Legislative Programme for Law Reform," Illinois Law Review, 3:512-521.

J

XV. THE STATE JUDICIARY

UDICIAL power has been defined by the supreme court of Illinois as "that power which adjudicates upon and pro

tects the rights and interests of individual citizens, and to that end construes and applies the laws." Although power of a quasi-judicial nature may be exercised to some extent by the legislative, executive, or administrative organs of the state government, judicial powers, properly speaking, are vested in the main in such judicial tribunals as are provided for by the constitution or created by law in and for cities and incorporated towns.2 Thus the power of the legislature in establishing courts is strictly limited. The state is provided by the constitution with a hierarchy of courts, comprising the supreme court, the appellate courts, and the circuit courts. In addition, there are numerous local courts, such as county courts, city courts, justices of the peace, and police magistrates, and certain special courts, such as probate courts and the court of claims.

At the apex of the system stands the supreme court, which is organized upon the collegial principle. There are seven judges, elected by popular suffrage for nine-year terms. In order to be legally eligible for the position, each judge must be at least thirty years of age, a citizen of the United States, a resident of the state for five years next preceding his election, and a resident of the district in which he is elected. In practice, supreme court judges must, of course, be learned in the law and frequently stand among the leaders of their profession. Under the original constitution of 1818, the justices of the supreme court, as well as the judges of the inferior

1 People ex rel. v. Chase, 165 Illinois, 527; Witter v. County Commissioners of Cook County, 256 Illinois, 616.

2 Constitution, article vi, section 1.

3 Ibid., article VI, section 3.

courts, were appointed by joint ballot of both branches of the general assembly and held their offices during good behavior. Since 1848, however, they have been elected by popular vote for definite terms of office. For the purpose of electing the supreme court judges, the state is divided into seven districts, each containing several counties. The boundaries of the districts may be changed by the general assembly at the session. next preceding the election of judges therein, provided such alterations are made upon the rule of equality of population, as nearly as county boundaries will allow, and provided that the districts shall be composed of contiguous counties, in as nearly compact form as circumstances will permit, and provided further that the alteration of the districts shall not affect the tenure of office of any judge. The counties composing the districts were originally laid down in the constitution; but, on account of the unequal growth of population in the various districts, some alterations in the boundaries were made in 1903 by the general assembly. The constitution apparently intends that the division of the state into supreme court districts shall be based upon the principle of approximately equal population. If so, the actual division has become archaic, since the seventh district, in which Chicago is located, contains nearly one-half the population of the state and an even larger percentage of the cases in the supreme court come from that district, yet the people of that district elect only one-seventh of the members of the court. It would seem that the division into districts should be made more equitable, or else the district system should be abandoned and the supreme court justices all elected on a general ticket.*

The election for judges of the supreme court are held in the separate districts and take place on the first Monday in June in such years as vacancies regularly occur. The judicial election was placed at a time different from that of executive officers and members of the general assembly in order to mini

Ibid., article VI, section 5; Hurd's Revised Statutes, chapter 37, section 1a, 1b, which were held constitutional in People ex rel. v. Rose, 203 Illinois, 46.

mize the influence of political considerations in the selection of the judges. Five of the supreme court judges are elected every ninth year, as in 1915, 1924, et cetera, while the other two judges are elected at intervals between these dates, so that ordinarily, there are always at least two judges with previous experience on the supreme court bench. Moreover, supreme court judges are not infrequently elected to succeed themselves upon the expiration of their terms. In case of a vacancy occurring through death, resignation, or incapacity, prior to the expiration of the term of any judge, a special election is held in the district to fill such vacancy, unless the unexpired portion of the term does not exceed one year, in which case the vacancy is filled by appointment by the governor."

Prior to 1897, the supreme court was held in three grand divisions, denominated the southern, central, and northern; and sessions were held for these divisions in three separate places, Springfield, Ottawa, and Mt. Vernon. There were very decided disadvantages in this division of the court. The judges, not having adequate opportunities for consultation and discussion, sometimes handed down inadequately considered opinions. The demand for the consolidation of the court grew more insistent, until, in 1897, the court was consolidated by act of the general assembly, and since then the sessions of the court have been held in Springfield, beginning on the first Tuesday in October, December, February, April, and June of each year. It is not necessary that all the seven judges shall hear every case argued; a majority of them, constituting a quorum, is competent to sit and to render decisions. The court is presided over by a chief justice, who is nominally selected by the justices from among themselves. Under the present rules of the court, no justice is eligible to serve as chief who has not served as a justice at least two years. Among those who are eligible, justices who have not served before as chief are preferred; and among the latter, seniority, as de

termined by length of continuous service, shall control. If all the eligible justices have before served as chief, then that justice succeeds whose last term as chief is most remote in point of time."

The clerk of the supreme court, strangely enough, is not chosen by the court but, since 1848, has been elected by popular vote, in accordance with the general tendency toward an unduly long ballot. It may be noticed, in passing, that it is a general rule in Illinois to elect clerks of courts of record by popular vote. This renders them subject neither to administrative control nor to judicial control. Neither are they subject to popular control in spite of popular election, because a clerk of court is too inconspicuous and too much of a ministerial officer to secure much attention from the voters.

The supreme court, however, appoints its own reporter who edits and publishes the opinions of the court, and its own marshal, who attends upon the sittings of the court and performs such other duties, under the order and direction of the court as are usually performed by sheriffs of courts. The court also promulgates its own rules of practice, subject to the provisions of the constitution and acts of the general assembly. The salaries of the supreme court justices are fixed by the general assembly at $10,000 per annum, but may not be increased or diminished during the terms for which such justices are elected. The supreme court justices are prohibited from receiving any other compensation, fee, or perquisite, and from performing any other than judicial duties to which may belong any emoluments.8

Next below the supreme court stand the appellate courts. In accordance with constitutional authorization, the general assembly in 1877 divided the state into four appellate court districts, of which Cook county comprised one district and the

"Hurd's Revised Statutes, chapter 37, sections 2, 3. On the movement for the consolidation of the supreme court, see J. H. Hamline in Proceedings of the Illinois State Bar Association, 1897, part 2, p. 31-35; 1898, part 2, p. 6; Rules of Practice of the Supreme Court of Illinois, number 38.

8 Hurd's Revised Statutes, chapter 37, sections 11, 12; Constitution, article vi, sections 7, 16.