After a weeklong trial, a federal jury found that former Rock Island County Sheriff Jeffery Boyd did not act within the scope of his employment when he harassed, threatened, and stalked a woman he was romantically interested in. In 2014, Boyd pled guilty to attempted official misconduct and resigned in disgrace after a state police…
Read MoreTo the average citizen, being “terminated” from your job is a euphemism for being fired. If you resigned, you were not terminated. The law largely agrees. There is a narrow exception for working conditions that are so intolerable they amount to “constructive termination.” But a recent decision from the Central District of Illinois reiterates that…
Read MoreThe Supreme Court has long held that the federal constitution restricts government action. It is not a remedy for every private misdeed—even when creative litigants, in their search for a deeper pocket, try and pin that private wrong on some public employer or agency. A recent summary judgment ruling from the Central District of Illinois…
Read MoreOnce a civil case is settled, it is typically over. Courts do not allow second bites at the litigation apple. Settlement serves to manage risks and costs and overall promotes the economies of the judicial system. It is an often used and favored mechanism for resolving a civil dispute. A Chicago federal district court judge…
Read MoreAlmost every municipality knows the headache of facing a self-represented litigant who knows enough about the legal process to weaponize legal procedure and thereby drive up defense costs, but who refuses to obey the rules himself. Two recent Seventh Circuit decisions remind lower courts of tools to curb such behavior. The first is James v….
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