Some job security for incoming class of Cook County Associate Judges....

Until last week, Supreme Court Rule 39(a)(1) provided, in pertinent part, "The terms of all Illinois associate judges in office expire on June 30th of every fourth year subsequent to 1975, regardless of the date on which any judge is appointed."

No need to count on your fingers here... the last such "fourth year subsequent to 1975" was 2019, when 386 of the 391 associate judges statewide who asked for new terms were retained in office. (To be retained, associate judges must be retained by a vote of three-fifths of the sitting full circuit judges in their respective circuits.)

As the linked post relates, the 17 Cook County associate judges who had just been sworn in on June 29, 2018 were all compelled to seek retention in 2019 (they were all retained). But that was a pretty quick turnaround. It's easy for those of us on the outside to say that no anxiety was warranted... but I'd be astounded if at least some of the newly-minted jurists weren't just a little anxious anyway.

I won't ask lawyers to do math here -- most lawyers really can do some math besides dividing by 3, the old joke notwithstanding, but I'll just come right out and say it: 2023 is another of those fourth years subsequent.

The 22 Cook County associate judges who will presumably be sworn in next month were looking at a guarantee of only 10 weeks (or so) in the job before having to face a retention vote. If some in the Class of 2018 were apprehensive, imagine how much more the incoming group might be... especially since the last possible date on which to seek reappointment specified by Rule 39(c) might have expired before the current Short List was winnowed down.

But the Supreme Court has come to the rescue. In an order entered March 1, the Supreme Court amended Rule 39. Specifically, the first sentence of Rule 39(a)(1) now reads, "The terms of all associate judges in office shall expire on June 30th of every fourth year subsequent to 1975, unless the associate judge is appointed after April 1st during the reappointment vear and thereby subject to reappointment in the next quadrennial reapportionment period." And, of course, Rule 39(c) has been amended in conformance.

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H/T to Jennifer Bae for calling my attention to this one.