Illinois Divorce Legislation Would Give Couples Option of Jury Trials During Divorce Proceedings
An Illinois State Representative has just introduced divorce legislation which would allow couples the option of jury trials for their divorce, proceedings according to a story in the Springfield Journal Register. Representative Monique Davis of Chicago introduced the legislation after a constituent came to her complaining about an unfair divorce trial in which he alleged that the judge and his ex-wife’s divorce lawyer were good friends. The legislation assumes that a jury trial would allow for more fair divorce proceedings and remove the potential of a judge having specific beliefs that could affect common divorce issues like child custody.
If this divorce legislation became law, Illinois would join Texas as states allowing jury trials in divorces. Current Texas divorce law allows juries to decide custody arrangements, contested property value or whether the property is community or separate. Texas juries can not decide who gets the property and if there are grounds for divorce, according to a Texas family law attorney quoted in the story. The Illinois divorce legislation does not specifically address whether juries can award property, but is very similar to the Texas law in these other facets.
This Illinois divorce legislation has sparked much debate as opponents argue that it would not be smart to introduce jury trials into what are typically very emotional and complicated proceedings. Opponents also add that it is inappropriate to allow a jury the power to affect children with decisions on child custody. Davis has heard these arguments and believes that couples should still have this option. She did add in the story that she would not expect many people to choose a jury trial for their divorce proceeding. As an example, there were only 75 jury trial requests in Texas divorce cases in 2005, which saw more than 6,800 divorces in January alone of that year.
