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The Illinois Supreme Court has appointed Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Judge Mary Seminara-Schostok to the Illinois Appellate Court, Second Judicial District. The appointment is effective August 8, 2008.

Judge Seminara-Schostok’s service on the bench dates back to May 1998 when she was appointed to serve as an Associate Judge in the 19th Judicial Circuit. She presided over traffic matters for 1 1/2 years and over domestic violence cases for a year. She also served as Supervising Judge of the Juvenile Division.

She was appointed to the Circuit Court bench by the Supreme Court in 2001 and elected in 2002. As a Circuit Judge, she currently presides over Law Division cases, having previously presided over probate and arbitration for two years. She has also supervised over traffic and misdemeanor divisions. Judge Seminara-Schostock also presided over the criminal felony court calls for two years.

Judge Seminara-Schostock is active with several civic and legal organizations, including serving as chair of the Criminal Law and Probation Committee of the Illinois Supreme Court and Red Ribbon Week at the Lake County Courthouse. She has been involved with the D.A.R.E program, the American Bar Association judicial internship program, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Lake County.

She is Third Vice-President of the Illinois Judges Association. Her legal memberships also include the Illinois State Bar Association; Lake County Bar Association; Association of Women Attorneys and the Lake County Justinian Society. After obtaining her bachelor of science degree in Business Education from Youngstown State University in Ohio in 1982, Judge Seminara-Schostok earned her law degree at Capital University College of Law in Columbus, Ohio in 1986. After obtaining her J.D. degree, she served as an assistant public defender in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, as an attorney with Bernstein and Bernstein in Pittsburgh, Penn., and as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Lake County State’s Attorney Office.