The Mysterious Lockstep Doctrine and the Future of Judicial Federalism in Illinois

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 966 I. THE JUDICIAL FEDERALISM DEBATE ............................................... 967 A. Evolution of Judicial Federalism in the United States ............ 967 B. The Arguments in the Dependent-Independent Debate .......... 969 II. ANALYZING THE LOCKSTEP DOCTRINE IN ILLINOIS JURISPRUDENCE .............................................................................. 971 A. Gardner’s Hypothesized Influences over a State Court’s Decision to Accept or Reject Judicial Federalism .................. 971 B. Does Illinois Jurisprudence Support Gardner’s Hypotheses and Observations? ................................................................... 974 C. Why Does Illinois Prefer a Lockstep Approach? .................... 978 1. Theories of the Judicial Decision-making Process ........... 978 2. Other Commonly Asserted Factors External to the Court ................................................................................. 987 3. What Does the Illinois Supreme Court Say? .................... 989 a. Legislative History of the Illinois Bill of Rights ........ 989 b. Major Illinois Supreme Court Cases Considering the Lockstep Doctrine Prior to Caballes .................... 992 c. People v. Caballes .................................................... 1001 III. WHERE DO THE ILLINOIS COURTS GO FROM HERE? ..................... 1003 A. Application of the “Limited Lockstep” Doctrine .................. 1003