Can I Sue the State Attorney Assistant?

[edomich]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Illinois


I don't know if I'm posting in the correct forum or not, but I'll give this a shot. I bought a car and insurance before I drove off with it. I was pulled over later that evening for reasons that were excused, but I could not yet provide a proof of insurance, so I had to bring it to court when I received it. When I brought my proof of insurance in, I was turned away by the State Attorney Assistant without being able to see the judge. He said, "All I see is binding date, and effective date, and the day you got pulled over the insurance wasn't effective." I told him what an insurance binder is, and cut me off, telling me to come back with a different proof of insurance. I did come back as a walk in a few weeks later, at my earliest convenience. Both my driver's license as well as my vehicle plates were suspended, so my mother had to take a day off of work to drive me the the county circuit court which is 2 hours away. I brought with me the same piece of paper with the definition of an insurance binder that I printed off of the Illinois Insurance website. Luckily, I got to speak with a different Attorney's Assistant, and he didn't understand why I was turned away before and apologized. I was not given a Court Deposition letter or Order to Vacate letter because the court supposedly handles my suspension lift. The problem is, that's going to take over 2 weeks, and my case was thrown out! All because this guy didn't know what an insurance binder is. Why am I not able to drive? I believe I am a victim of some kind of malpractice here, and there is a lot of damage that I would like to recover.

[Proserpina]

State Immunity is probably going to be the problem for you.

[edomich]

hmmm....

Are county courts considered an arm of the state? I didn't think they were capable of claiming immunity....

[Proserpina]

Realistically the question of whether a county court employee is actually an employee of the State (relating to sovereign immunity) is less important than what might be the bigger issue here - that being, does the employee's professional duty to their client arise solely from their government employment?

Before we venture down that path though, it's probably not a bad idea to establish damages.


What damages did you actually suffer?

[edomich]

Well this is probably where I need the most help as I really don't know what qualifies as "damage". The simple fact that I haven't been able to drive for almost 2 weeks now, plus another 2 weeks for the reinstatement to go through, really irks me. I can't accept any job offers through the employment agency I work at because I have no way to get to and from work. Is there any laws regarding loss of wages? Also, I'm a full-time student, and I had to miss two classes to go back to court for no reason.

I really appreciate your help by the way.