Karen Kendall was born in Clearwater, Fla., and came to Illinois in 1959. She majored in philosophy at Southern Illinois University as an undergraduate, and earned her master’s degree from there in American history. In 1981, she graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Law, receiving her degree with honors. She was named S.I.U. Law School Alumnus of the Year in 1996. She has been practicing law in Peoria since 1984 after having begun her law career as a judicial law clerk.She is a past president of the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association and a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. She also served for nine years as a member of the Illinois Supreme Court committee on civil jury instructions.She has been a partner with the law firm of Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen Since 1984, and presently chairs the firm’s state wide civil appellate practice group. In addition to her legal career, she has been involved with numerous community and civic projects.
Tell us about your background: schools attended, family, etc. Being raised in a military family, what special experience can you share?
I was lucky to live in many different states while I was growing up. I experienced, first hand, the diversity in our population. When I was in sixth and seventh grade, my father was an Air Force pilot who flew “air weather” into the eye of typhoons in the Pacific Ocean while based in Guam. He flew “air rescue” from the Philippines when I was in college in Illinois.
I started school in Alaska (kindergarten and first grade) then went to school in North Carolina (second grade) and then attended school in Arlington, Va., while my father was stationed at the Pentagon (third through fifth grades). I also went to school in Oklahoma (eighth grade) and then went to high school, college, graduate school, and law school in Illinois.
As you can probably tell, once I got to Illinois, I fell in love with this area and wanted to stay here. After graduating from O’Fallon Township High School, I attended Southern Illinois University on a debate scholarship, and enjoyed it so much I went to graduate school there too. Later, I attended law school there as well and graduated with honors.
The experience of being raised in a military family causes you to treasure your friendships – which we made all over the country – and your time with your family. It also gives you a strong sense of duty and patriotism. I feel I was very fortunate to have had two parents who encouraged me to set high goals and to work hard.
What influenced your decision to become an attorney? Did/do you have a mentor?
I decided to go to law school because law impacts every aspect of our daily lives, and I felt a law degree would provide me with the best opportunity to make a contribution to our society.
After graduating from law school, I became a judicial law clerk for Howard Ryan who was, at that time, the Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. He served on that court from 1970 through 1990 and is still much admired and highly respected in the legal community, and in our appellate district as a whole. Working with him, I learned first-hand how the Illinois Supreme Court decides what cases to take, and how they reach decisions following briefing and argument.
At that time, judicial law clerks had the opportunity to stay in the Supreme Court building and dine with the justices. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn about the court and principles of appellate review from the inside.
Judge Ryan was, and still is, my mentor as is another friend of his, Lyle Allen, who is the “Allen” in our law firm of Heyl, Royster, Voelker & Allen. He started me on the road to my civil appellate practice, in which I now specialize. He is a past president of the Illinois State Bar Association, and like Justice Ryan, still enjoys an exceptional reputation in the legal community statewide. In both of them, I observed the highest standards of professional and ethical conduct, and I have south to follow their lead in my professional career.
Your law practice specializes in civil appellate practice. What kinds of cases end up in the appellate courts, and what originally attracted you to that area?
I have been very fortunate to be able to specialize in civil appellate practice. We have a large law firm with five offices throughout the state, and the fact that we have so many cases has enabled me to specialize in that area. But a number of cases I’ve handled have also come to me from outside of our law firm, because an individual has lost in the trial court and needs specialized help.
I’ve handled about every kind of civil appeal there is including tort cases, business and contract case, real estate and domestic relations.
Each year, only a limited number of appellate opinions are published. I’ve handled more than 200 cases resulting in a published decision in the appellate and Supreme Court, and just filed a brief in my 30th Illinois Supreme Court case.
About half of the cases I’ve handled have been in the Third Appellate District and the Illinois Supreme Court.
I was really attracted to the area of civil appellate practice because it requires an analysis of the law in its historical perspective, and also an ability to capture the essence of a client’s case and present it to the appellate court in a persuasive manner.
Since the Illinois Supreme Court takes so few cases, as a practical matter, cases in the appellate court are often a client’s last resort.
When did you first decide to run for appellate court judge? What steps are necessary to declare a candidacy? What is involved with running a campaign while also working full time?
I decided to run for judge of the appellate court, after 18 years of law practice, because I know, first hand, what it takes to make a person qualified to be a judge on that court.
In my view, having substantial courtroom experience is not only beneficial, it’s essential.
An appellate judge looks at the written record of the trial court proceedings and determines whether or not an error occurred in the trial court sufficient to justify reversal on appeal. Without having had substantial courtroom experience, one cannot do this in the way it should be done.
To run for appellate judge, it’s necessary to circulate petitions which must be filed by a certain deadline, just like any other political office. There’s a difference between a judicial office and other political offices in that judicial candidates are not permitted to discuss how they would rule on issues which might come before the court.
Although we elect our judges, an appellate judge should not be a politician, but should be a legal scholar. Our founding fathers wisely made our judicial system a separate – but equal – branch of our government.
I’m fortunate to have a very experienced campaign chair, my friend Mary Alice Erickson, and an experienced campaign manager, Terry Weitzel. Both have a great deal of experience in Republican campaigns and are, I find, essential since I’m continuing to practice law and campaigning in the evenings and on weekends.
What background do you feel is necessary to become a judge? Are there many female judges in Illinois?
Our best judges on the courts of review are those who truly understand the trial court process first-hand. This requires substantial court room experience. I started out in trial practice and later became an appellate attorney. I believe that’s the type of experience all our judges should have.
There are a number of excellent female judges in Illinois and I anticipate that there will be more in the future. Several are my very good friends. When I went to law school, our class was 20 percent female; now the figure is around 50 percent. I think we will see that happening more and more in the judiciary as well in the coming years.
It seems to take months for cases to get to court, and many more for the appeal process? Is this accurate? Why?
It does take a long time for cases to go through the trial court and through the appellate process. In the trial court, it often depends on how complicated the case, and how busy that particular county is in terms of the number of trials.
In the appellate court, it takes between five and six months before the case actually is argued to the court, and then it may take the court several more months to reach a decision.
Part of the reason for an appeal taking that amount of time is the need for the preparation of the Record on Appeal, including the transcript of the trial and preparation of the written briefs by the parties.
It takes time to understand a trial court record and to write a good brief, and it takes time for the court to read everything that is filed, understand the case, perform independent research, and reach a decision. I would not be in favor of making the process faster at the loss of each case getting fair consideration.
Has the appellate court process changed over the years? The type, frequency, or judgment?
In the 18 years since I have been practicing law in our district, we have had an increase in the percentage of cases which result in unpublished decisions, and a decrease in the number of cases in which there is oral argument.
I’d like to see oral argument in almost every case, and I’d like to see all decisions published in some form. With the advent of computer technology, and the speed with which such decisions can be searched, it would seem all decisions can and should be accessible to the public.
There is a public accountability function in the appellate process which is sometimes overlooked. A judicial decision not only decides the dispute between the parties, but also establishes a general rule of law.
When some decisions are published, and thus have precedential value and others are not, we lose the public accountability function of judicial decisions to some extent. A decision should be written not only so the parties and the public know the result, but also so that they can understand the reasoning and see the justice in the decision. Attorneys and judges should be able to read decisions to see how they fit into the law as a whole and will affect future cases.
What changes would you make if elected?
If elected, I would seek to achieve a leadership position on the court. I have been a past president of the Illinois Appellate Lawyers Association and also a leader of an appellate organization nationally. I would seek to use that leadership experience and that expertise in appellate practice to become a leader on the court. Over the nearly 20 years that I have been practicing law in our district, I have seen a change in the judicial philosophy of the court. I would like to see a return to a more conservative philosophy in which law making is left to the legislators. I do not see law making as a proper role for the appellate court.
Would you encourage other women to run for public office?
I believe in true equality among all persons and would encourage other women to use their special skills and talents in ways that benefit society.
As a newcomer to the political arena, I’ve discovered a whole world – 21 counties – of responsible, concerned citizens who care about good government so much that they spend many, many hours helping candidates be heard. We are very fortunate to be able to participate in this process, and the rewards – in terms of reaffirming our core values – are well worth the effort. Good women (and men) encouraged me to run for appellate judge, and I would whole-heartedly encourage other qualified women to run for office.
What, if anything would you change about the legal process?
I would like to see the legal system be more available to those who have pressing needs but are unable to pay. I would also like to see a program of public education so that there is a greater understanding of the judicial process.
Presently, it’s very difficult for people who vote for judicial office to know who is qualified and who is not. If you have not had a case before the court, then you have not had first-hand experience with the appellate process. The cases decided by the appellate court, however, affect everyone, not just those who come before the court. It’s vitally important in our system to elect the most qualified judges. I’d also like to see a greater public understanding of the process.
I would urge everyone to exercise their privilege of voting in the primary election March 21, and general election in November. This privilege is what makes our country great.
What was the most unique case you were involved with? What are you most proud of?
Probably the most unique case was defending constitutional challenge to the tort reform legislation before the Illinois Supreme Court. The court, in that case, overturned the legislation and so we were unsuccessful. The two cases I am the most proud of involve parents, grandparents and children. One, which I handled a decade earlier, involved the termination of the parental rights of a mother. We handled that case pro bono and, ultimately, had the termination of parental rights reversed by the Illinois Supreme Court. Not only was this decision highly significant to the mother and her child, but it is now important in other Illinois cases involving parental rights as well. The second case was a case I argued to the Illinois Supreme Court just last year. It involved the right of two grandchildren to recover their deceased grandparents’ estate. I was hired by an Alabama lawyer to argue this case before the Illinois Supreme Court on behalf of her grandchildren. She flew to Illinois for the argument, and we had a great time meeting and discussing many things, including our own grandchildren and our law practices. I was very happy when we won that case.
You live on a small farm near Princeville. Tell us about your hobbies, your love for animals, etc.
We live on the north side of Jubilee Park with our three horses, a large dog and several aged cats. We trail ride in Jubilee Park and enjoy a variety of other outdoor activities including canoeing, cross country skiing, and golf. After a long day thinking and writing about the law, it is fun to go out and talk to our horses. TPW