Get the State of Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board COMPLAINT AGAINST A JUDGE - illinois accomplished. Dorothea Renee Jackson has been licensed since 2006. She was elected to the Circuit Court in 2004, retained in 2010 and 2016. The study involved 228 participants and found that, for both men and women, each type of loneliness contributed similarly to a significant increase in their likelihood of having a drug or alcohol addiction. The old Congress is going out so it's time to review the worst people who are now federal judgesfor life. Illinois court system ranked dead last, at 50th. In interviews with the judges, the commissions discuss their findings and ask them to address issues raised in the evaluations. Lawyers contacted described her as possessing exceptional legal knowledge and ability, with integrity that is beyond reproach. Judicial Elections & Appointments. The Chicago Sun-Times published a column from InjusticeWatch, which notes, they are the only judges seeking retention to each have more than a dozen decisions reversed by higher courts in the six years since they were last retained. Click here to read the article. An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice. Were more concerned about her track record for having cases reversed on appeal. He is considered to be a strong advocate and an experienced trial attorney who gets good dispositions for his clients. Theyre near the end of the ballot, listed in seemingly random order. Geary W. Kull has been licensed since 1974. This video is part of the Neil A. Weiner Research Speaker series. The Worst Shameless Lawyers/Liars in Illinois. Michael Weaver has been licensed since 2006. The nearly 30,000 state, county and municipal court judges handle a far bigger docket: more than 100 million new . That all led to two vacancies on the ballot this year for the newly drawn Second and Third Districts in Chicago's suburban counties. She was elected to the Circuit Court in 2016. She has been a speaker and has participated in committees for the Cook County Bar Association and the Illinois Judicial Council. Sophia H. Hall has been licensed since 1967. After first being assigned to First Municipal, in 2019 he was assigned to the Law Division, Tax and Miscellaneous Remedies. Its even rarer for voters to remove a judge from office. In 2001, the Judicial Inquiry Board filed a complaint over Schwartz decision to bar Southern Illinois Law School students from serving in his courtroom, after his stepsons application to enroll there was denied. She has been a speaker and written about legal issues and served on the Proviso Township Mental Health Commission and the Hillside Zoning Commission. For most judicial offices, ISBA will provide either an evaluation or a poll rating. Under her proposal, judges who were found qualified would have automatically received another term, while those who were found not qualified would have faced a public retention vote. The ISBA finds Judge Brendan A. OBrien recommended for retention to the Cook County Circuit Court. Since February 2017, he has been assigned to the Municipal Department in the Third District (Rolling Meadows) where he hears a variety of matters on a rotating basis. The ISBA finds Judge Patrick T. Murphy recommended for retention to the Cook County Circuit Court. He was chosen as an associate judge in 2007 and retained as such in 2011 and 2015. He is extremely well-respected by attorneys appearing before him for his legal knowledge, sensitivity, temperament, and integrity. Illinois had the third most federal criminal convictions for public corruption between 1976 and 2012, behind New York and California.A study published by the University of Illinois Chicago in 2022 ranked Illinois as the second . All attorneys contacted praised her legal knowledge and ability, thoroughness, sensitivity, temperament, and integrity. He also received positive comments on his temperament, diligence, impartiality, and integrity. He is currently assigned to Chancery, after previously sitting in the Criminal Division at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. James J. Ryan has been licensed since 1992. He is described as fair, with a good judicial temperament and high integrity. The average reversal rate pursuant to the 2018annual report from the Illinois Supreme Court indicates that 22percent of civil cases and 17 percent of criminal cases are reversed. He served in many leadership positions in AFSCME Local 3315, the public defenders union, including president, vice-president, chief steward, and as a bargaining committee member. He is assigned to the Criminal Division where he presides over a felony trial call as well as the specialized drug court program at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. Michael B. Hyman - Illinois Appellate Court, 1st District, Neville Jr. vacancy. Mary K. O'Brien has deep financial ties to the Madigan . 2) Chief Justice Roger Taney. Carrie E. Hamilton has been licensed since 1996. Jubeh is a nice person and I have no quarrel with her. March 31, 2022. Hon. How are you supposed to cast an informed vote? So, we just shrug our shoulders and skip them on the ballot, which is a real injustice if you ask me. Click here for more information. She is described as being professional, fair, efficient, and even-tempered. It was tough., Down to Business: Helping children learn to communicate empowers whole family, speech-language pathologist says, Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information. He was appointed to the Circuit Court in 2015 and elected in 2016. Order the book PoweR PR; Ethnic Activists Guide to Strategic Communications, Copyright 2022 Suburban Chicagoland & Urban Strategies Group. She has been active with various bar associations, including serving as treasurer of the Indian American Bar Association, has spoken on various legal issues, works on diversity issues with the Sates Attorneys Office, and helped organize a naturalization drive. The ISBA finds Judge Kevin M. ODonnell recommended for retention to the Cook County Circuit Court. He is currently the Presiding Judge of Child Protection, a position he has held since December 2020 when he was appointed Acting Presiding Judge. Jesse Outlaw, Jr. has been licensed since 1980. Jane's Army is a joint campaign to recruit activist volunteers to educate, motivate, and activate pro-choice voters ahead of the critical 2022 election. She has received various awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois Judges Association, the Mary Heftel Hooton Award from the Womens Bar Association, the Access to Justice Award from the Illinois State Bar Association, and the John Paul Stevens Award from the Chicago Bar Association. Most people dont. In 2016 she was elected to the Circuit Court. He does not report jury or bench trial experience, but does have substantial quasi-trial civil experience, including administrative and evidentiary hearings. This year, that state placed 10th. The ISBA finds Judge Anna Maria Loftus recommended for retention to the Cook County Circuit Court. Prior to this, she has been Chief of General Prosecutions for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation from 2014 to 2016; Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief Safety and Security Officer for the Chicago Transit Authority from 2009 to 2014; and an assistant states attorney from 2001 to 2009. Lawyers appearing before him describe him as having superior legal knowledge, being always prepared, and excellent with complex cases. He worked at several different firms before joining his current firm, focusing on similar areas. The ISBA finds Judge Robert Balanoff recommended for retention to the Cook County Circuit Court. She is described as respectful, fair, and diligent. She has been assigned to Chancery since January 2019. The commissioners interview each judge seeking retention in their district. He initially spent a year in Traffic Court. He won election for a full term the following year, and retired from the bench in 2012. He is active with other judicial organizations and has lectured on legal topics and taught at Loyola. In addition, he was Chief of Staff to Representative Bobby Rush from 1997 to 1999, and member of the Clinton Transition Team from 1992 to 1993 as Domestic Policy Director, and Commissioner of the Department of Economic Development for the City of Chicago from 1985 to 1989. But, they are willing to stand with their pals and friends and colleagues who are judges to give them High Ratings that the judges then use to tout to the public and argue they deserve to be retained. While Chicago Appleseed concluded that the pilot project demonstrated the value of these more robust public judicial evaluations, it was discontinued in 2014 because of a lack of outside funding. Roger Taney was the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1836 until 1864. For more information, the Cook County Clerk lists all of the 103 judges running for retention. Thats not easy to do, but it should be done more often. Cook County Circuit Judge Matthew Coghlan has come under scrutiny for his alleged role as a prosecutor in the wrongful convictions of Armando Serrano and Jose Montanez for a 1993 slaying. Hon. He is currently assigned to the Law Division Trial Section where he has sat since 2013. She was named an associate judge in 2007, retained in 2011 and 2015. His prior assignment include First Municipal, Civil Jury Trials, Misdemeanor Jury Call, and Supplementary Proceedings and Miscellaneous Remedies; Domestic Violence; and Traffic Division. Prior to her recent appointment, she held various positions within Cook County government, including as Special Assistant for Legal Affairs in the Cook County Bureau of Administration (April 2018 to April 2022), Interim Director of the Cook County Department of Adoption and Family Supportive Services (November 2018 to August 2019); Assistant Special Legal Counsel to the Office of Cook County Board President (March 2013 to April 2018); and Chief of Staff and General Counsel to then Cook County Commission Jesus Chuy Garcia (December 2010 to March 2013). 1:16. Hon. She was elected to the Circuit Court in 2010 and retained in 2016. Has been a speaker on legal topics and is a member of various bar associations. All works on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The groups investigation raised significant concerns about Judge Marinos work ethic, punctuality, diligence and knowledge of the law. Cook County voters should demand more from a $202,000-a-year employee. Thank you. The ISBA finds Judge Leonard Murray recommended for retention to the Cook County Circuit Court. Prior to this he served as an assistant states attorney until 2006 when he opened his own general practice focusing on criminal defense and real estate. He has served on Supreme Court committees and as chair of the Appellate Courts Mediation Committee. She is the president of the Illinois Latino Judges Association and has been a Board member of the Hispanic Lawyers Association and the Illinois Association of Defense Trial Lawyers, and a committee member with the Illinois State Bar Association and the Womens Bar Association. Most of the bar associations issue only their rating a proverbial thumbs-up or thumbs-down. Elizabeth Beth Ryan has been licensed since 2004. [Read the Tribune's endorsements for the 2018 general election]. Injustice Watch is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism organization that conducts in-depth research exposing institutional failures that obstruct justice and equality. He is a past member of the Illinois State Bar Association Assembly, a past president of the Justinian Society, and an officer of the North Suburban Bar Association. Raymond Mitchell was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1993. That undermines confidence in our criminal justice system. In this case the court ruled for the re-enslavement of Dred Scott, a Black man and former slave from Missouri who claimed to be free. Judge Aviva K. Bobb CA Los Angeles works at ARC CA Century City Bar 50146. He was elected to the Circuit Court in 2016. JUDGE JOE BROWN VINTAGE CASE. And I think voters should have an issue with her, too. He is considered to have high integrity with a good temperament. Marcia OBrien Conway was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1984. Illinois did not rank above 48th in any of the 10 criteria. The ISBA finds Judge Sandra G. Ramos recommended for retention to the Cook County Circuit Court. National Foundation for Gun Rights attorneys lost no time in Show more . He has been sitting in the Child Protection Division since 2017. Attorneys appearing before him gave him high marks for his legal knowledge and abilities, and his ability to think outside the box and find creative solutions. He has been on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Judges Association and a speaker. She was elected to the Circuit Court in 2016 and has been sitting in the County Division since 2018, after first being assigned to First Municipal Division, Traffic Court. He was elected to the Circuit Court in 2016. At that point, the bar associations decide whether a judge is qualified to continue to serve or whether a candidate will be recommended for the bench. The report further faulted Illinois lawmakers and its courts for allowing a blizzard of recent legal actions against employers and other companies of all sizes and types under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, even when plaintiffs cant prove they were actually harmed by an alleged violation of the law. He is an experienced commercial litigator, with some jury and bench trial experience and substantial complex quasi-litigation before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other boards. Circuit Court of Appeals, who specialized in representing oil and gas industry interests as an attorney in Houston and was appointed to . But critics, including Nes, say the evaluations fall short, noting how few judges over the years have received negative ratings, let alone get bounced from the bench by voters. There are four Cook County Judges seeking retention who have the worst records when it comes to having their rulings reserved by the Appellate Court. Hon. After being elected to the Circuit Court in 1994, and retained in 2000 and 2006, where she served in Probate Court, she was appointed to the Appellate Court, First District, in 2010, and then elected in 2012. The Committee finds Tracie Porter qualified for election to the Circuit Court of Cook County. November 3, 2022. Whats a judicial retention election, anyway. Maps in North Carolina, Illinois, Texas and Alabama show the worst gerrymandering sins. The ISBA finds Judge Susan Kennedy Sullivan recommended for retention to the Cook County Circuit Court. Since 2018 she has been assigned to the Probate Division. Attorneys consider him to be very knowledgeable on the law and as someone who stays up to date on current law. EXCLUSIVE: Pekau has already decided to move ahead and eliminate the Villag Why so much emphasis in Illinois on protecting criminals? Hon. Kathleen Marie Burke has been licensed lawyer since 1989. She was elected to the Circuit Court in 2004, retained in 2010 and 2016. The Cook County Democratic Organization, which is solidly behind Foxx, voted not to endorse Toomin for retention. He has been assigned to the Housing Section since 2016 after initially serving in various sections of First Municipal. It was reported that at times she could be condescending and disrespectful to both attorneys and litigants, and that there are times she speaks Spanish directly to litigants without properly employing the official court interpreter. The survey, conducted by Harris Poll, posed a series of questions to what the report said was a national sample of more than 1,300 in-house general counsel, senior litigators or attorneys, and other senior executives at companies with at least $100 million in annual revenue. All of the survey respondents were identified as executives or attorneys knowledgeable about litigation matters and who have firsthand, recent litigation experience within the last five years in each state they evaluate.. The ISBA finds Judge Freddrenna M. Lyle recommended for retention to the Cook County Circuit Court. Unlike political candidates for public office who need to receive 50 percent plus 1 vote or more to win and election and take office, Judges who are elected to the Cook County Circuit Court must stand for retention every six years. Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News. The Committee finds Thomas More Donnelly highly qualified for election to the Circuit Court of Cook County. Community feedback really should be a bigger part of the evaluation process, he said. He currently serves as the Presiding Judge in the Probate Division, after being appointed Acting Presiding Judge in 2019. He has a calm demeanor and is always on time. The last time that happened was 1990. He will yell at you randomly,pick on you and threaten to put you in contempt for literally no reason. Ms. Bhandari has extensive criminal jury and bench trial experience. Jerry Esrig was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1978. He has been assigned to the Second District (Skokie) since February 2017, where he has been hearing a mixed civil call since October 2019 after first sitting in misdemeanor and traffic rooms. The ISBA finds Judge Thomas V. Lyons recommended for retention to the Cook County Circuit Court. Library of the U.S. Courts of the Seventh Circuit. The Illinois Latino Judges Association Holiday Fiesta will take place on Thursday, December 8, from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m., at Mi Tierra Restaurant, 2528 S. Kedzie, Chicago. Since 1981, the court was being investigated by the FBI in Operation Greylord, and he was eventually convicted on four counts of accepting bribes (including fixing three murder cases). Early in his career he was a clerk for the Appellate Court and assistant public defender. The Alamo dome was packed with Chavez fans, and the arena became quieter and quieter as the fight went on. The ISBA finds Justice Mathias Delort recommended for retention to the Illinois Appellate Court First District. Click here to view that list. The Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, the Illinois State Bar Association and other bar groups perform a valuable public service by screening and rating judicial candidates. The ISBA finds Judge Mary Lane Mikva recommended for retention to the Cook County Circuit Court. Author John Seasly explains A reversal means an appeals court decided a judge was wrong and overturned all or part of a ruling. The average number of reversals for a judge is four, he writes. In addition, she helped create the Cook County Drug Court Treatment Program in the Second District. Kim said the results of the survey should be a wake-up call to policymakers, saying any states economic growth and prosperity depend in large part on the fairness and predictability of its legal system.. Its just assumed within the industry that if a judge is already on the bench, then theyre qualified to be on the bench, Shiller told Injustice Watch. . Ms. Ryan reports that she has tried eight civil jury trials. He is currently the managing partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan, where he has been employed since 2011, focusing on business litigation. The southern Illinois county of Saline, named after the Saline River, ranks as the worst of the state's 102 counties to live in. Terrence Joseph Lavin has been licensed since 1983. He was elected to the Circuit Court in 2016 and has been assigned to the Probate Division since 2017. As judicial misconduct investigations drag on, judges in limbo outside courtrooms with pay. InjusticeWatch, a non-political organization that I respect, concluded in an assessment, Demacopoulos has had 14 decisions reversed by higher courts since 2014, among the most of any of the judges running for retention this year., Hanah Jubeh, spokeswoman for Committee for Retentionof Judges in Cook County, responded,Comparing the single number of reversals is not reflective of thequality of the judge.