Crime & Law
P. Scott Neville Selected as Next Chief Justice of Illinois Supreme Court
(Randy von Liski / Flickr)
P. Scott Neville, a Chicago native and former Cook County judge, has been tapped to serve as the next chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court.
Neville, who has served on the high court for the past seven years, will take over for current Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis beginning in October. He’ll become the second Black chief justice in Illinois history.
“Chief Justice Neville embraces Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s belief that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice,” the court said in a statement Tuesday. “Guided by this principle, he envisions a judiciary that effectuates the arc by displaying fairness and setting a goal of excellence.”
Neville himself said that public trust in the courts “requires justice that is accessible, procedures that are understandable, and support services that meet the needs of litigants.”
“I will also work to make the Illinois courts a national model, safeguarding the constitutional promise of equal justice without regard to who a person is, where they live, or what resources they have so all litigants are seen and heard,” he said.
Neville was first appointed to the high court in 2018, filling the vacancy left by the retiring Charles Freeman — who was the court’s first-ever Black chief justice — and later won his first reelection campaign in 2020.
After starting his legal career serving as the first Black law clerk for a Cook County appellate justice, Neville began practicing appellate and civil rights law. In 1992, he prosecuted a high-profile Chicago ward redistricting case alongside famed civil rights attorney and judge R. Eugene Pincham and future President Barack Obama.
Neville became a Cook County circuit court judge in 1999, then began serving as an appellate judge in Illinois’ First District in 2004, where he remained until joining the Supreme Court.
As chief justice, Neville will oversee the administration of the Illinois courts and more than 900 judges. He’ll also be tasked with supervising appointments to Supreme Court committees, leading the Illinois Judicial Conference and presenting the court’s annual budget to the Illinois General Assembly.
Neville’s installation ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 24 in Chicago.
