Illinois Judicial System

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I have decided to compare the judicial systems of Missouri and Illinois, since Illinois is my home state.

Both the state of Missouri and state of Illinois have three levels of courts.

The names of the courts in Illinois are not similar when compared to Missouri. Missouri’s three levels of courts are called the Supreme Court of Missouri, the Missouri Court of Appeals, and the circuit courts. The Supreme Court of Missouri is the highest level of court in Missouri and it supervises all the other courts below it. The only case in which the Supreme Court of Missouri will review a case is if it is decided by the Court of Appeals or has been appealed in a lower level court. The Court of Appeals review cases that have been appealed by the circuit …show more content…
The last of the levels of courts in Missouri are the circuit courts. Every county in the state of Missouri has a circuit court for a total of 45 circuit courts in the state. Each circuit court is divided into smaller court divisions that specialize in a certain type of case such as: juvenile, criminal, small claims, etc. Illinois’ three levels of courts are called the Supreme Court, the Appellate Court, and the Unified Trial Court in Illinois or Circuit Court**. The Supreme Court is the highest level of court in the state of Illinois. Just like Missouri’s Supreme Court, the Illinois Supreme Court also supervises all courts in Illinois. The Supreme Court hears cases that have been appealed at lower levels, similar to the Supreme Court of Missouri. Illinois is broken up into 5 different districts which each has its own Appellate Court, for a total of 5 courts. The Appellate Court hears cases that have been appealed at the circuit court level. The Unified Trial Court or Circuit Court hear cases that have been given to them specifically by the Chief Judge. Illinois is divided into 23 judicial circuits, each having its own court for a total of 23 circuit courts in the state. (I’m not sure which is right, but when I look on another page in …show more content…
There are 32 judges that serve on 3 Court of Appeals that are elected by the nonpartisan court plan. 11 judges are from the Western District, 14 judges from the Eastern District, and 7 from the Southern District. The circuit court judges are elected in rural areas by popular vote by partisan election, however in metro areas (such as St. Louis, Kansas City, and Jefferson City) judges are elected by the Missouri Plan. In Illinois there are also 7 Supreme Court Judges, 3 from the 1st district (Cook County) and 1 from each of the other 4 districts all elected by partisan elections. On the Appellate Courts in Illinois there are currently 52 judges that serve on 5 courts. 18 judges are from District 1 (Cook County) and the remaining 4 districts elect 6 judges each. These Appellate Court judges are elected by partisan elections, then will run in nonpartisan elections for retention. The circuit court judges must be elected by partisan elections, then will run in nonpartisan elections for retention. Illinois differs in all election types for all 3 levels of
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