Judge removed after allegedly allowing lawyer to hear cases, wear robe
A veteran Cook County Circuit Court judge allegedly allowed a lawyer who is running for election to the bench this fall to wear a robe and hear cases at the Markham courthouse late last week, a breach of judicial ethics as well as a potential violation of the law.
The move prompted the county's chief judge, Timothy Evans, to remove the judge from the bench Wednesday until further notice.
The incident occurred in the Markham courtroom of Judge Valarie Turner, who allegedly allowed lawyer Rhonda Crawford to take her place on the bench, Evans said in a statement. Crawford, an employee in Evans' office, presided over at least two cases Aug. 11, both of them traffic cases. One involved a ticket for driving without insurance, the other for driving on the median.
It is not known how Crawford ruled. But both cases will be heard again in front of a real judge, said Pat Milhizer, Evans' spokesman.
Milhizer declined to say if Evans referred the matter to criminal authorities for investigation or to the state disciplinary agencies that handle misconduct allegations against judges and lawyers. Legal experts, though, said the agencies would likely take a keen interest in the matter.
A spokeswoman for Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said prosecutors, who learned of the incident from a Tribune report, found it "deeply concerning" and planned to review it. Officials at the Judicial Inquiry Board, which oversees and disciplines judges in the state, and the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, which licenses and disciplines lawyers, declined to comment.
The incident is an embarrassment for Evans and comes at a difficult time for him. The chief of Cook County's courts since 2001, Evans faces challenges from two judges seeking to oust him in internal court elections next month. Thomas Allen, a former Chicago alderman, and Sandra Ramos, a former state prosecutor, are running against Evans to lead one of the largest court systems in the nation with more than 400 judges.
The judge and the lawyer allegedly involved in the incident have operated in relative anonymity in Cook County's bustling legal circles.
Turner, a graduate of Northwestern University and the University of Chicago Law School, is a former federal prosecutor who also worked as an associate at the Kirkland & Ellis law firm. First elected to the bench in 2002, she hears municipal cases in Markham.
Crawford, records show, has worked for Evans' office as a law clerk/staff attorney since 2011. In March, she handily defeated two opponents in the Democratic primary for the 1st Judicial Subcircuit, which includes parts of the South Side and some of the south suburbs.
She is unopposed in the November general election.
The incident shocked judicial ethics experts, who said it would be such an ethical lapse — and possibly a violation of the law for the impersonation of a judge — they were surprised any judge would allow it and any lawyer would actually take the bench. It also raised a host of issues, from questions about the validity of any judgment Crawford might have rendered to the cost and inconvenience of rehearing cases she handled.
Finally, the incident raised questions about the judgment of any lawyers who took part in the cases knowing that Crawford is not a judge, as well as the conduct of any clerks, courtroom deputies or other county employees who regularly work with Turner in her courtroom.
Steven Lubet, a professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law who specializes in legal and judicial ethics, pointed to several rules of professional conduct for judges and lawyers that Turner and Crawford might have violated when Crawford took the bench.
"The alleged conduct presents multiple violations of the ethics rules for both judges and lawyers that prohibit any conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice," Lubet said. "Any judge or lawyer should know that only judges can rule on cases, and it's plainly wrong for a non-judge to sit on the bench in a robe and rule on cases."
Clifford Scott-Rudnick, a professor at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, said the alleged incident was simply stunning.
"I can't see how someone else can just sit and be a judge," said Scott-Rudnick, who specializes in legal ethics. "Obviously, if you're entitled to have a judge hear your case, it has to be a real judge."
Turner and Crawford could not be reached for comment.
Evans also suspended Crawford from her job pending an internal investigation. She makes nearly $57,000 a year.
Evans made the moves after a meeting with an executive committee of the county's 17 presiding judges.
"The public's confidence in the judiciary is the cornerstone of our system of justice, and I have taken the steps necessary to preserve that confidence," Evans said in the statement. "Because the investigation is pending, I believe it is inappropriate to comment further at this time."
Lawyers were left slack-jawed by the alleged incident as well. Barry Spector, a longtime criminal defense lawyer, said he had seen instances where judges in training would take the bench as a supervising judge stood over them to make sure they handled their cases correctly.
"But that's after they've been sworn in," he said Wednesday. "This is unheard of."
Unlike you in your earlier life, I never thought that made me cool, though. Quite the opposite. I'd rather be good at something useful, like...well, anything, but after 24 years I've come to accept that this is what I have.
