Looks like judges in Cook County are getting the message that they are not Gods

Editor's note: The daughter of Alice R. Gore was under constant threat of "contempt of court". In this way the judge was able to control any  dissent in the courtroom of the Probate Court of Cook County. This Shark invites the medillwatchdog.org to monitor the antics on the 18th floor of the Daley Center.  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

 

Judge gets restricted duty

By Marc Karlinsky 
Law Bulletin staff writer

A Cook County judge is on restricted duty after the court’s top judges and a news report questioned her use of finding defendants in direct criminal contempt.

Circuit Judge Gloria Chevere was hearing misdemeanor and ordinance offenses at the criminal branch court at 5555 W. Grand Ave.

She has been assigned to the Illinois Supreme Court’s peer mentoring program and will now handle an administrative call within the 1st Municipal District while an investigation is pending.

The order issued late Wednesday afternoon said allegations of inappropriate conduct were brought to the attention of the executive committee — a panel comprised of Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans and 17 presiding judges from each court division.

“These allegations claim that Judge Chevere failed to follow appropriate procedures prior to finding litigants in direct criminal contempt of court,” the special order read.

“The [c]ommittee reviewed documents and conducted a preliminary review of these allegations which caused the [c]ommittee members to conclude that a possible threat of injury to the public and to the orderly administration of justice may have occurred.”

The order and an accompanying statement did not provide details about the allegations.

But it came less than a week after a report by the Medill Watchdog website at Northwestern University and WGN-TV found Chevere held 30 litigants in direct criminal contempt between January 2011 and August, while other judges used that power sparingly.

In that period, the entire Cook County Circuit Court, not counting Chevere, had 44 total findings of direct criminal contempt, the report found.

Among the contempt findings, the report cited eight cases in which Chevere sent litigants to jail for wearing their pants too low.

If a judge witnesses conduct he or she deems disreputable to the court, they may find someone in direct criminal contempt and send them to jail without any additional hearings.

The executive committee order directs Circuit Judge E. Kenneth Wright Jr., presiding judge of the 1st Municipal District, to assign Chevere to a call hearing civil non-jury and administrative matters. Chevere could not be reached today at the Daley Center or at her former branch court.

Robert S. Held, a partner at Harrison & Held LLP, said contempt is a difficult concept that lawyers, judges and the public often misunderstand.

With direct criminal contempt, judges can maintain order effectively with disruptive people in a courtroom.

But the power to send someone to jail on a moment’s notice should not be used lightly, he said.

“It’s clear that the bar — and, more particularly, judges — need to be very diligent and cognizant of the liberty interests that are at stake,” he said.

Chevere was elected to the bench in 2006 from the 6th Judicial Subcircuit on the city’s Northwest Side. She was retained in 2012 despite negative recommendations from several bar groups.

It’s not the first time Chevere has been reassigned in controversy following a news report.

A WFLD-TV report in May 2010 showed Chevere sunbathing in her backyard on a weekday when she was expected to be working.

At that time, Chevere was handling felony preliminary hearings at 3150 W. Flournoy St. She was placed under mentorship of Circuit Judge Sophia H. Hall in addition to her reassignment.