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On the off chance that I might one day find myself in front of one of these judges, I won’t say that I have little to no sympathy for someone who doesn’t even know when to file.
Three Cook County judges face the potential loss of their seats after they missed a deadline last week to file for retention.
“She simply forgot to file,” said Mathias Delort, an election lawyer representing Judge Joan Margaret O’Brien. “She is crestfallen about the situation.”
Delort and Burt Odelson, a lawyer representing Judge Carole Kamin Bellows, who also failed to file on time, are asking a Cook County judge to rule unconstitutional the state statute setting the Dec. 5 deadline.
A hearing before Judge Patrick McGann, the presiding judge of the county division, has been set for Monday. […]
Delort said they need the courts to act quickly so attorneys don’t begin filing petitions to run for one of the three seats, which at the moment are technically open. A veteran election lawyer, Delort said this was the first time he knew of that a sitting judge had forgotten to file for retention.
Emphasis added.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Dec 15, 05 @ 1:04 am
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Boot them! Ignorance of the law is not a legitamate excuse for not following it…right judge?
Comment by Coloradem Thursday, Dec 15, 05 @ 8:36 am
I’m not here to offer excuses for the judges missing that deadline (although I believe the constitutionality challenge of the law in question would seem to have some legs to it). However in the case of Judge O’Brien, who sits in the Child Protection Division of Cook County Juvenile Court (where I work), I can see how the deadline could slip by.
Each day the judges in the Child Protection division (as well as the Hearing Officers who hear and take testimony in many of these cases) hear one horror story after another regarding the kids in these cases. The surprising thing is that this hasn’t happenned earlier, because it is not that hard to have any sort of deadline sneak up on you when one has to focus your mind so intently on the cases at hand.
Comment by Randall Sherman Thursday, Dec 15, 05 @ 9:25 am
Don’t you think these judges would have some sort of judges association or club that would remind them to file on time? And then review who had filed before the deadline to see who was missing. How do the other candidates know which seats are going to be vacant? I don’t care how busy these people are, if you are going to be a judge you need to follow the law. I am one who is always late paying bills or filing my taxes on time but I know what the consequences are and play that into the equation.
Comment by Anon Thursday, Dec 15, 05 @ 12:32 pm
They can still run in a competitive election. If they still have the support of the machines that were probably necessary for them to get elected in the first place, it shouldn’t be too bad of a problem (although getting 50% against an opponent is a lot harder than getting 60% against “NO”)
Comment by Black Libertarian Thursday, Dec 15, 05 @ 12:42 pm
I understand that some of these judges have tough jobs, but they knew the filing deadline was approaching. There have been notices, memos, and this isn’t a new deadline! Besides, it probably takes months to prepare that ridiculously long retention ballot.
Comment by Anon Thursday, Dec 15, 05 @ 1:45 pm
Boot them! Ignorance of the law is not a legitamate excuse for not following it…right judge?
Comment by melrose chamber Thursday, Dec 15, 05 @ 3:21 pm