judicial retention vote
I think we should probably start a forum to list judges that are lenient towards drunk and otherwise dangerous drivers. We can review this list when it comes time to vote to retain the judge. I searched the forum, but have not found a similar thread.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on
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This is all well and good in theory. However, in practice, the reality is that almost no one who votes for judges in Cook County, both running for election and for retention, actually knows anything about those candidates. The various bar groups make recommendations, but they too have their axes to grind. Most judicial elections are won by the candidate slated by the party, regardless of qualifications. As for retention, I am hard-pressed to remember a Cook County judge who was not retained once they got in. I'll bet there haven't been ten non-retentions in the last 20 years. The retention ballot essentially means nothing.
In my opinion, judges should not be elected or retained on the basis of a popular vote. A merit system needs to be introduced based on peer review and actual written testing of the judges' legal knowledge. That will not be happening in Cook County, ever.
The good thing is that regardless of how they got their job, quite a few judges in Cook County do turn out to be competent and decent in the long run. It's sure not because of the election system, though.
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Permalink Reply by Alex Z on
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9 non-retentions in 20 years is more than zero--small comfort maybe, but something!
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Chicago Council of Lawyers analysis and recommendations (.pdf):
http://www.voteforjudges.org/wp-content/uploads/March-2018-judicial...
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Permalink Reply by yaj 7.4 on
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Many Bar associations in Illinois get together to review judges. You can find their collective results here: http://www.voteforjudges.org/wp-content/uploads/2018-Primary-Judici...
There is new resource on this issue too: https://benchmarkjudicialvotingguide.com/
Please vote people! Early voting is underway now and the primary election is Tuesday, March 20.
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Great idea! I’m in.
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Permalink Reply by Jeremy on
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See Yasmeen's message from 2/11/17 about Samuel Betar. He is up for reelection in November in the 13th Subcircuit (northwest suburban Cook County).
https://www.injusticewatch.org/news/2018/2018-cook-county-judicial-...
https://ballotpedia.org/Samuel_Betar
I looked up the other judges mentioned, but they were elected to 6 year terms in 2016.
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Injustice Watch has a great guide at https://www.injusticewatch.org/interactives/judicial-guide/index.html. Their guide is baswed on a review of publicly available records, including whether judges' decisions are frequently overturned on appeal and similar issues.
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Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on
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Judge Matthew Coghlan has been ousted by the voters !
Judge Coghlan became the first Cook County judge to lose a retention election in 28 years !
https://www.injusticewatch.org/news/2018/voters-reject-cook-county-...
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Permalink Reply by Bob Kastigar on
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Too bad Judge Hooks wasn't up for retention. Maybe next time.
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Judge Hooks is on the ballot for retention in 2022. I got my mail-in ballot today for the November 28th 2022 election, and recognized the name.
Vote NO for the retention of Judge William H. Hooks.
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Amazingly, there was actually a judge who wasn't retained this election. First time in 28 years.
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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on
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I was so glad to see that. After years of going to the polls with my bad judge list to no avail, this makes me hopeful more bad judges don't get retained when there's a history of bad behavior.
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