The Limits on Legislative Power to Withhold Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Illinois Bar Journal, Vol. 99, p. 316, June 2011
2 Pages Posted: 15 Jul 2011
Date Written: June 13, 2011
Abstract
Confusion abounds over the term “jurisdiction” in Illinois trial courts. When issues involve only subject matter jurisdiction, that is, issues implicating the trial court’s power “to hear and determine cases of the general class to which the proceeding in question belongs,” Belleville Toyota, Inc. v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., 199 Ill.2d 325, 334 (2002), there is still confusion. Troubles surface, in part, because the Illinois constitutional landscape changed in 1964. Pre-1964 precedents are still occasionally employed in Illinois circuit courts. Troubles also arise because legislatures generally utilize varied meanings for the term “jurisdiction.” The Illinois Supreme Court, in In Re Luis R., 239 Ill.2d 295 (2010), sought to eliminate much of the confusion. Hopefully, confusion will continue to recede, as it has since Belleville.
Keywords: subject matter jurisdiction, justiciable matters, justiciabilty, trial courts, cases or controversies
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