Voters should let 6 judicial careers end: CBA
By John Flynn Rooney
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
Published October 11, 2006The Chicago Bar Association on Wednesday recommended that voters not give six Cook County Circuit Court judges new 6-year terms.
The CBA found the other 64 Cook County judges on the Nov. 7 retention ballot "qualified."
Those who received ratings of "not recommended" are P. Scott Neville Jr., Cynthia Brim, Loretta Eadie-Daniels, Donna Phelps Felton, Marcella Carmen Lipinski and Amanda S. Toney.
"We are going to do our best in the next [four] weeks to get the word out so the voter can go in and make a reasoned decision on the retention judges," CBA President Kevin P. Durkin said Wednesday.
Neville, who has been sitting on the 1st District Appellate Court by assignment since 2004, declined to appear before the CBA's Judicial Evaluation Committee and therefore was automatically found not recommended under a governing resolution of the committee.
Neville also was deemed not recommended by the CBA when he ran for the Circuit Court in 2000.
Neville, a past president of the Cook County Bar Association, was instrumental in the creation of the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening. The 10 Alliance members gave Neville favorable marks in their ratings issued last week.
In order to stay on the bench, each of the 70 judges on the upcoming ballot needs to receive at least a 60 percent "yes" return from voters who cast ballots in the nonpartisan retention election. No Cook County judge has lost in a retention election since 1990.
Brim, who sits in the 5th Municipal District at Bridgeview, also declined to appear before the CBA's evaluators. Five Alliance members -- the Chicago Council of Lawyers, the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago and the Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois -- also urged a "no" vote for Brim.
The CBA said that Eadie-Daniels, who serves in the 6th Municipal District at Markham, "does not possess the necessary depth and breadth of knowledge to serve as a Circuit Court judge."
Eadie-Daniels received across-the-board favorable ratings from the Alliance members.
Felton, who is assigned to the 3d Municipal District at Rolling Meadows, also did not appear before the CBA. All of the Alliance members recommended a "yes" vote for her.
Lipinski "does not possess the necessary temperament and demeanor to serve as a Circuit Court judge," the CBA said.
The Council, along with the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association, recommended a no vote for Lipinski.
"I can't figure [the CBA] out," said Lipinski, who sits in the 6th Municipal District.
"This is the third or fourth time they have not recommended me. Before it was experience. Now it's demeanor. Whatever it is, I can't please them," Lipinski said in a telephone interview Wednesday, adding that she has recommendations from at least seven other groups.
Toney, who hears civil jury trials in the 1st Municipal District, "needs to improve her punctuality and diligence in managing her courtroom call," the CBA said. "Many cases assigned to her sit for much too long a period without disposition."
The Council, Decalogue Society, ISBA and LAGBAC also found Toney not recommended last week.
Circuit Judge Robert J. Kowalski received unfavorable ratings from the vast majority of Alliance members.
But the CBA said Kowalski, who serves in the 4th Municipal District at Maywood, "manages his call in a diligent and orderly manner. Judge Kowalski is well respected for his knowledge of the law, even temperament and work ethic."
The Council also declined to recommend the retention of 1st District Appellate Justice Patrick J. Quinn, along with Circuit Judges Rodney Hughes Brooks, Robert Lopez Cepero, Thomas R. Chiola, Christopher J. Donnelly, Kathy M. Flanagan, Joyce M. Murphy Gorman, Marsha D. Hayes, Lee Preston, Ronald C. Riley and Lawrence Terrell.
Those 11 jurists all garnered qualified ratings from the CBA.
Among the other judges receiving favorable ratings from the CBA were 1st District Appellate Justice Leslie Elaine South and Circuit Judges E. Kenneth Wright, Carole Kamin Bellows and Daniel A. Riley.
Quinn and South are seeking new 10-year terms, while the circuit judges are vying for additional six-year terms.
"Over the past several months, our committee has worked very hard to get the right result for the right reasons for each candidate," said Timothy S. Tomasik, the JEC's chair, who, like Durkin, is a partner with Clifford Law Offices in Chicago. "We take great pride in making the information available to the voting public."
The ratings are expected to be posted later this week at www.chicagobar.org.
-- Pat Milhizer contributed.
Copyright © 2006, Law Bulletin Publishing Company
