Northern Illinois University Law Professor Appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Capital Cases

March 24, 2005
 

DeKalb, IL—Northern Illinois University Law Professor Lorraine Schmall has been appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court as Professor-Reporter of the Special Supreme Court Committee on Capital Cases.  This Committee studies the trial sentencing processes in capital cases in Illinois.  In her capacity as Professor-Reporter, Professor Schmall will do research and writing for a capital case bench book for all judges in Illinois.  It will be the first such bench book in the state of Illinois.

Professor Schmall has been a law professor at NIU since 1989.  Her areas of expertise include Criminal Law, Death Penalty, Employment Law, Labor Law, and Pension Benefits.  She has published a number of articles and books on topics related to feminism, labor, and criminal law. At NIU, Schmall teaches labor law, ERISA, employment law, criminal law, and a death penalty seminar in which students undertake post-conviction appeals on behalf of condemned Illinois inmates.

Professor Schmall is also a contributing editor for the American Bar Association (ABA) Bureau of National Affair’s Developing Labor Law hornbook, and a member of the Developing Labor Law Committee of the ABA, the American Law Institute, and the Executive Committee of the American Association of Law Schools Section on Labor and Employment Law.

“We are very pleased with Professor Schmall’s accomplishments.  Her extensive research, years of teaching criminal law, and familiarity with the Illinois death penalty make her a perfect choice to serve on this committee,” said NIU College of Law Dean LeRoy Pernell. 

The committee is chaired by Hon. Michael Toomin, Chief judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
 
 
For more information, contact:
Melody Mitchell
Director, Alumni Events & Public Relations
815/753-9655l