ELECT
ROBERT B. MORTON
Republican
for
CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE
19th Judicial Circuit
Lake & McHenry Counties, IL.
YOU BE THE JUDGE! ™
EDUCATION:
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL, J.D. (1982)
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN (Ann Arbor), B.A. (1978)
PHI BETA KAPPA
EXPERIENCE:
NEARLY 2O YEARS AS ATTORNEY IN ILLINOIS
TRIALS & APPEALS, CRIMINAL & CIVIL
RATED "WELL-QUALIFIED" FOR CIRCUIT JUDGE BY SUPREME COURT'S BLUE RIBBON JUDICIAL SCREENING COMMITTEE IN LAKE COUNTY
"PRIVATE JUDGE":
ARBITRATOR ACCREDITED BY NUMEROUS NATIONAL & INT'L DISPUTE RESOLUTION ORGS.
STATE HEARING OFFICER FOR ILLINOIS BD. OF EDUCATION
PRESIDED OVER 100+ HEARINGS
LAW ENFORCEMENT:
FORMER ASSISTANT ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL
CURRENT PART-TIME POLICE OFFICER (ROUND LAKE AREA)
COMMUNITY SERVICE: Police Officer Robert Morton shown supervising children during this past summer's "REACH ONE" summer camp program in Round Lake Area.
DETAILED QUALIFICATIONS:
Past: Former Assistant Illinois Attorney General. Former Lieutenant of Police.
Current: Attorney-at-Law presently a solo-practitioner primarily engaged in complex civil litigation and Trial and Appeals Court Practice. Also, past experience in criminal law. Admitted to practice in the State and Federal Courts of Illinois since 1982; and admitted practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. Mr. Morton is also a State Hearing Officer for the IL. Dept. of Education and an Arbitrator accredited by numerous National and International Dispute Resolution Organizations (Private Judge) -- see detail below.
Currently, Mr. Morton is also a part-time sworn Police Officer (Round Lake Area).
ARBITRATOR ACCREDITATIONS:
American Arbitration Association (AAA) - certified commercial Arbitrator; ICC International Court of Arbitration & US Council for International Business (USCIB) - approved commercial Arbitrator panelist; Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) - approved International Arbitrator panelist; British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Center (BCICAC) - approved International Arbitrator panelist; National Association of Securities Dealers (N.A.S.D.) - certified (public) Arbitrator (including Emergency Interim Injunctions and Large/Complex Case Panels)National Future's Association (N.F.A.) - certified (public) Arbitrator; Chicago International Dispute Resolution Association (CIDRA) - approved neutral Arbitrator; New York Stock Exchange (N.Y.S.E.) - certified (public) Arbitrator; Chicago Stock Exchange (C.S.E.) - certified (public) Arbitrator; Chicago Board Options Exchange (C.B.O.E.) - certified (public) Arbitrator; American Stock Exchange (A.M.E.X.) - certified (public) Arbitrator; Cook County Court Mandatory Arbitration Program - certified Arbitrator; Illinois State Board of Education - certified Administrative Law Judge / Hearing Officer for teacher dismissal cases; U.S. Justice Department - approved neutral/arbitrator.
EXPERIENCED ARBITRATOR/CHAIR - chaired and presided well in excess of 100+ Arbitration Hearings.
N.A.S.D. Arbitrator
Training Lecturer -- Invited Speaker at National Arbitrator Skills Training Conference on
presiding as Arbitrator/Chair in cases involving Injunctions, Non-compete agreements and
Trade Secrets.
Member in good-standing of the Lake County Bar Association.
Member in good-standing of the Illinois State Bar Association.
Resident of unincorporated Antioch, IL. (on Fox Lake).
Married to Nancy Persson Morton.
Republican for
Circuit Court Judge
Nineteenth 19th Judicial Circuit (McHenry & Lake Counties)
SO YOU TOO CAN PROUDLY SAY:
™
Campaign News: Judgeship Lost by a TIE Vote (Twice) !!
A Challenge ("Objection") to the Nominating Petitions of opponent Judge Mary Seminara Schostok was filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections on behalf of Robert B. Morton by Nancy P. Morton, Treasurer of the Morton for Judge Committee. Since Schostok was Morton's only opponent for this contested judicial vacancy, a ruling upholding the Petition challenge would effectively result in Morton's uncontested election as Circuit Judge (since Illinois law did not permit any substitute judicial candidate to be added to the Ballot). The Objection claimed Schostok's Petitions unlawfully used her official Title as a sitting "Judge" multiple times on the Petitions, which was expressly forbidden by the Illinois Election Code, 10 ILCS 5/7-10.2. Prior well-settled legal precedent held that a violation of this provision resulted in the Candidate's disqualification and mandated removal from the ballot, due to the inherent taint of undue influence from the use of official titles on petitions. See: Jones v. Electoral Bd., 112 Ill.App.3d 926, 446 N.E.2d 256 (1983). On January 22, 2002, the Illinois State Board of Elections stalemated in a 4-4 Tie Vote on the Objection. (Case No. 01 SEBGP 511). Morton then filed for judicial review in the Circuit Court for Sangamon County in Springfield, Illinois. And on February 6, 2002, the Hon. Judge Leslie Graves properly followed the prior legal precedent and ruled in favor of Morton's Objection, holding that Schostok's violation had forfeited her candidacy, and the Circuit Court Ordered the State Board of Elections to remove Schostok's name from the Primary Election ballot. (Case No. 02 MR 44) Schostok then appealed, and on February 22, 2002, after expedited review in an unpublished ruling which inexplicably ignored the prior well-settled legal precedent, the 4th District Appellate Court reversed and allowed Schostok back on the primary ballot (Case No. 4-02-0119). Thereafter, Morton's Petition for a rare Emergency Appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court, was Granted. Justice Robert Thomas properly recused himself from the case because he had recommended the Supreme Court's appointment of Schostok to temporarily fill the judicial vacancy on the Lake County Circuit Court (and because as Schostok herself admitted, he "is a Friend ... and has supported her candidacy" - Chicago Tribune, by Jerry Lawrence, 3/13/02). Morton briefed and argued his own case before the High Court. On March 12, 2002, only a week prior the the Primary Election, this Epic Legal Battle came to a climactic conclusion only an hour after oral arguments, when the Clerk of Court released a 1-paragraph written Order announcing that the Illinois Supreme Court in a 3-3 Tie Vote was "constitutionally unable to reach a majority decision". Effectively this meant the Appellate Court's ruling would be allowed to stand, and likewise Schostok would dubiously be allowed to remain on the Primary ballot despite her obvious folly (Docket No. 93330).
QUERRY: If Morton's opponent hadn't been a sitting Judge appointed by the very Supreme Court deciding her fate, would the result have been the same?
"You be the Judge!"™
ArlingtonHeights Daily Herald (3.14.02)
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