Posted On: March 9, 2007 by Steven R. Merican

Illinois Supreme Court Establishes Manifest Weight Of The Evidence As Standard Of Review In Spousal Abuse Case

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the standard of review for a finding of abuse under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act is the “manifest weight of the evidence.”

In this case, the trial court found abuse by the preponderance of the evidence. The appellate court affirmed, but used an “abuse of discretion” standard of review. The supreme court acknowledged that the “abuse of discretion” standard was commonly used in the appellate courts. “However, the ‘mere repetition of a purported rule of law does not establish its validity.’”

The whole case, Best v. Best, No. 101135 (9/21/06), is available by clicking here.

Bookmark: Bookmark Illinois%20Supreme%20Court%20Establishes%20Manifest%20Weight%20Of%20The%20Evidence%20As%20Standard%20Of%20Review%20In%20Spousal%20Abuse%20Case at Google.com Bookmark Illinois%20Supreme%20Court%20Establishes%20Manifest%20Weight%20Of%20The%20Evidence%20As%20Standard%20Of%20Review%20In%20Spousal%20Abuse%20Case at del.icio.us Digg Illinois%20Supreme%20Court%20Establishes%20Manifest%20Weight%20Of%20The%20Evidence%20As%20Standard%20Of%20Review%20In%20Spousal%20Abuse%20Case at Digg.com Bookmark Illinois%20Supreme%20Court%20Establishes%20Manifest%20Weight%20Of%20The%20Evidence%20As%20Standard%20Of%20Review%20In%20Spousal%20Abuse%20Case at Spurl.net Bookmark Illinois%20Supreme%20Court%20Establishes%20Manifest%20Weight%20Of%20The%20Evidence%20As%20Standard%20Of%20Review%20In%20Spousal%20Abuse%20Case at Simpy.com Bookmark Illinois%20Supreme%20Court%20Establishes%20Manifest%20Weight%20Of%20The%20Evidence%20As%20Standard%20Of%20Review%20In%20Spousal%20Abuse%20Case at NewsVine Blink this Illinois%20Supreme%20Court%20Establishes%20Manifest%20Weight%20Of%20The%20Evidence%20As%20Standard%20Of%20Review%20In%20Spousal%20Abuse%20Case at blinklist.com Bookmark Illinois%20Supreme%20Court%20Establishes%20Manifest%20Weight%20Of%20The%20Evidence%20As%20Standard%20Of%20Review%20In%20Spousal%20Abuse%20Case at Furl.net Bookmark Illinois%20Supreme%20Court%20Establishes%20Manifest%20Weight%20Of%20The%20Evidence%20As%20Standard%20Of%20Review%20In%20Spousal%20Abuse%20Case at reddit.com Fark Illinois%20Supreme%20Court%20Establishes%20Manifest%20Weight%20Of%20The%20Evidence%20As%20Standard%20Of%20Review%20In%20Spousal%20Abuse%20Case at Fark.com Bookmark Illinois%20Supreme%20Court%20Establishes%20Manifest%20Weight%20Of%20The%20Evidence%20As%20Standard%20Of%20Review%20In%20Spousal%20Abuse%20Case at Yahoo! MyWeb