HB4847sam003 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Denny Jacobs

Filed: 5/12/2004

09300HB4847sam003 LRB093 14813 AMC 50915 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4847

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4847, AS AMENDED, with reference to page and line numbers of Senate Amendment No. 1, on page 32, immediately below line 26, by inserting the following:

"Section 20. The Circuit Courts Act is amended by adding Section 40 as follows:

(705 ILCS 35/40 new)

Sec. 40. Medical malpractice circuit court pilot program.

(a) As a pilot program beginning January 1, 2005, a medical malpractice circuit court shall be established in the Fifth Appellate District of the State, the jurisdiction of which is limited solely to medical malpractice actions within the counties comprising that appellate district. The medical malpractice circuit court shall be located in the same municipality where the Fifth Appellate District's appellate court is located. The medical malpractice circuit court may convene anywhere within the Fifth Appellate District as the convenience of the court and parties may warrant.

(b) Up to 7 circuit judges in the Fifth Appellate District shall be assigned to the medical malpractice circuit court by the Supreme Court.

To be eligible to serve as a medical malpractice circuit judge, a person must be a circuit judge within the Fifth Appellate District and must have (i) at least 10 years' experience as a judge in Illinois, at least 5 of those years handling medical malpractice cases, (ii) at least 10 years' experience as an Illinois attorney specializing in medical malpractice law, or (iii) at least 15 years' combined experience as a judge in Illinois and an Illinois attorney specializing in medical malpractice law.

The Supreme Court shall assign circuit judges to the medical malpractice circuit court by December 1, 2004. The Supreme Court may assign associate judges to the medical malpractice court as necessary; those associate judges must meet the qualifications required by this subsection for circuit judges.

(c) The medical malpractice circuit court shall have a jury administrator who shall work with the circuit court jury commissions of the Fifth Appellate District to assure that each jury pool for the medical malpractice circuit court is drawn from the entire area comprising that district.

(d) No later than January 1, 2005 and until December 31, 2008, all new medical malpractice cases in the circuits comprising the Fifth Appellate District must be filed with the medical malpractice circuit court. A party may by motion request that a medical malpractice case pending before January 1, 2005 be transferred to the medical malpractice circuit court. That motion shall be granted unless it would cause extreme detriment to a party. Cases pending in the medical malpractice circuit court on December 31, 2008 shall remain in that court unless otherwise transferred; the medical malpractice circuit court shall cease to exist upon its disposition of all cases pending in that court on December 31, 2008.

(e) By July 1, 2007, the Supreme Court shall report to the Governor and the General Assembly on (i) the effectiveness of the medical malpractice circuit court; (ii) the number of cases heard in the court; (iii) the length of time those cases were in the court system; (iv) whether the pilot program should be continued in the Fifth Appellate District; and (v) whether the pilot program should be extended to other appellate districts.

(f) The Supreme Court may adopt rules for the implementation of this Section."; and

on page 52, line 21, after "law", by inserting ", except that the changes made to Section 40 of the Circuit Courts Act take effect on July 1, 2004".