Welcome to Florida Coastal School of Law

BACKGROUND

Retired Circuit Judge Thomas E. Hornsby of Dixon, Illinois served as a Circuit Judge in the 15th Judicial Circuit which consists of the counties of Carroll, JoDaviess, Lee, Ogle, and Stephenson, Illinois. Judge Hornsby received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois and a J.D. degree from the John Marshall Law School. Judge Hornsby was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1964 and practiced law in Chicago with the law firm of Pretzel, Stouffer, Nolan and Rooney until November of 1965, when he joined the Elwin Wadsworth law firm in Dixon, Illinois. In 1966 Hornsby became a general partner in the firm and practiced law and served as a special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois until December of 1972. In 1972 the Illinois Supreme Court appointed Hornsby as Circuit Judge to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John Dixon. In 1974 Judge Hornsby was elected to the office of the Judge of the Circuit Court and was retained in each subsequent election. He retired from office December 3, 1995.

EXPERTISE

Judge Hornsby is a national speaker on various subjects including Judicial Ethics, Family Law, Domestic Violence, Juvenile Justice and the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children. He has presented in several states, including, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Minnesota, Kansas, California, Louisiana, Texas, Nevada, Oregon, Florida, Nebraska, Ohio, Montana, Colorado, Tennessee, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

EDUCATION

Judge Hornsby received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois and a J.D. degree from the John Marshall Law School.

TEACHING and SCHOLARSHIP

Judge Hornsby has served as a member of the Illinois Judicial Conference Study Committee, the Juvenile Law Committee of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council. He has instructed courses in Juvenile, Family and Criminal Law at Northern Illinois University and Sauk Valley College, has been an adjunct professor at the Northern University College of Law where he taught Trial Advocacy and Children in the Legal System. He is currently a Professor of Professional Skills at the Florida Coastal School of Law, where he teaches courses in Family Law, Juvenile Law, and Domestic Violence. He is a peer reviewer for the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Judge Hornsby is a graduate of the National College of the State Judiciary. He is past president of the Illinois Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and is a member and past president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. He is the Co-Chairman of the Judicial Ethics Committee and a member of the NCJFCJ. Judge Hornsby is also a member of the regular college faculty of the Lewis J. McCardy College of Juvenile and Family Law. He served as a member of the Board of Fellows of the National Center for Juvenile Justice, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). He is President of the Board of Directors and of the Betty Griffin House, a shelter for domestic violence victims, in St. Augustine, Florida. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Judge Hornsby has served as a member of the Illinois Judicial Conference Study Committee, the Juvenile Law Committee of the Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Family Violence Coordinating Council. He has instructed courses in Juvenile, Family and Criminal Law at Northern Illinois University and Sauk Valley College, has been an adjunct professor at the Northern University College of Law where he taught Trial Advocacy and Children in the Legal System. He is currently a Professor of Professional Skills at the Florida Coastal School of Law, where he teaches courses in Family Law, Juvenile Law, and Domestic Violence. He is a peer reviewer for the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Judge Hornsby was a member of the Juvenile Justice Task Force of the Illinois Supreme Court's Special Commission on the Administration of Justice and of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission. He is President of the Board of Directors of the Betty Griffin House. He previously served as a member of the Board of Fellows of the National Center for Juvenile Justice and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Court Appointed Special Advocates. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the American Judicature Society.

PUBLICATIONS

• Author of the article on "Disposition of Delinquency cases", Illinois Juvenile Law and Practice, Practice Handbook, (CLE; 19990 (111. Inst. for CLE, 1990).
• Contributing author to Juvenile Law Benchbook, prepared by the Illinois Judicial Conference Study Committee on Juvenile Justice, Distributed by the Administrative office of the Illinois Courts.
• Member of Project Advisory Board of the American Bar association Center on Children and the Law, May, 1998, in preparation of "A Judge's Guide to Improving the Legal Representation of Children."
• Author, AEthical Considerations for Family Court Judges@, Synergy, Volume 4, Summer 1999
• Contributing Author and Reviewer of AState-by-State Compilation: A Listing of Selected Judicial Advisory Opinions and Cases That Address Community Participation by Judges to End Domestic Violence, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, (2001)
• Reviewer of Packet and Contributing Author of AJudicial Ethics: Considerations for Judicial Involvement in Community Efforts to End Domestic Violence. NCJFCJ (2001)
• Contributing author and editor of AThe Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children: A Manual and Instructional Guide for Juvenile and Family Court Judges, A Collaboration of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the American Public Human Services Association (Fall 2001)
• Drafter of the Recommendations of Modifications of ABA Canons of Judicial Ethics,
• National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Canons with Commentary, approved by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, July 2003, and submitted to the Conference of Chief Judges in January 2004 and the American Bar Association Committee in June, 2004.
• Guest author of A Judges Guide to CASA/GAL Program Development, 2004 Edition A National CASA Association Resource Library Association, 2004 Edition
• Author, ASanctions et prevention dans la Lutte contre les violences domestiques aux Etas-Unis ( A Brief Overview of the American Approach to Domestic Violence Issues), culture DROIT, No. 3, ///JUINAOUT 2005, p 18