by Chief Judge Nancy Rosenstengel of the Southern District of Illinois just said “no” today to the attempt at judge shopping by the State of Illinois. She transferred both Langley v. Kelly and FFL-IL v. Pritzker to Judge Stephen McGlynn. Judge McGlynn is the judge of record in Harrel v. Raoul.
Rosenstengel-to-McGlynnIn addition, the magistrate to whom Barnett v. Raoul had been assigned ordered that case transferred to Judge McGlynn.
I had posted about the attempt by the State of Illinois to game the system earlier today. They had first pulled a state court case to Federal court and then tried to have it be the lead case. Their argument was that it was the first case filed anywhere. However, precedent in the district stated that consolidated cases should be assigned to the judge of the case with the lowest number. Here that would have been the joint SAF, FPC, and ISRA case of Harrel v. Raoul.
I applaud the Chief Judge for abiding by the longstanding precedent in the District for assignments in consolidated cases.
You have to love it when people try to game the system and it doesn’t work. Especially when they think that just because a certain judge is appointed by one of “their own” and therefore should rule for them, but instead turns out to be judicially honest, as I wish most of them would be.
We have to wish that judges appointed by Republicans are also judicially blind in regards to politics and pressure from one side or the other. That is the only way that we will see faith restored in our judicial system.
I could not agree more.