P. Scott Neville Jr. is an American lawyer who has served a justice of the

Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...

Education

Neville received his undergraduate degree from

Culver–Stockton College Culver–Stockton College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Canton, Missouri. It was founded as Christian University in 1853 as the first institution west of the Mississippi River chartered specifically for men and women. As of fa ...

and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Washington University School of Law Washington University in St. Louis School of Law (WashULaw) is the law school of Washington University in St. Louis, a private university in St. Louis, Missouri. WashULaw has consistently ranked among the top law schools in the country; it is ...

Career

He was admitted to the bar in 1974 and served as a law clerk to Appellate Court Justice Glenn T. Johnson. From 1977 until 1979, he was Of Counsel at Howard, Mann & Slaughter. In 1979, he became a principal with the law firm of Neville & Ward. In 1981, he established P. Scott Neville, Jr. & Associates, which merged with Howse, Howse, Neville & Gray in 1990.

State judicial service

Neville was appointed to the Circuit Court of Cook County in 1999 and elected in 2000. On June 11, 2004, he was appointed to the Appellate Court to succeed

Neil Hartigan Neil F. Hartigan (born May 4, 1938) is an American lawyer and politician from Illinois. He served as the Attorney General of Illinois, the 40th Lieutenant Governor, and a justice of the Illinois Appellate Court. Hartigan was also the Democra ...

. He was then elected to the Appellate Court in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. He also served as Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Illinois Appellate Court, First District from September 1, 2013 until August 31, 2014, is a former member of the Appellate Court's Executive Committee and has been the Presiding Justice of the Second, Third and Fourth Divisions.

Appointment to Illinois Supreme Court

Neville was appointed by the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice

Charles E. Freeman Charles E. Freeman (December 12, 1933 – March 2, 2020) was an American attorney who served as a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. He was elected to the position on November 6, 1990, becoming its first African-American justice. He served a ...

. He was sworn into office on June 15, 2018 and his would have ended on December 7, 2020, but his was subsequently elected in his own right. Neville was only the second black justice in the Illinois Supreme Court's 170-year history (Freeman had been the first).

Personal life

Neville was born in Chicago. He is married to Sharon J. Neville and has two adult stepdaughters.

References

External links

Official Biography on Illinois Supreme Court website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neville, P. Scott Jr. 1940s births Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century African-American lawyers 21st-century American judges African-American judges Culver–Stockton College alumni Illinois Democrats Illinois state court judges Justices of the Illinois Supreme Court Lawyers from Chicago Washington University School of Law alumni