Further inquiry into appointed-then-recalled judges

A reader took issue with my recent assertion that, as far as I knew, "no one has been appointed to the bench by the Supreme Court recently except men and women who have received unanimous approval from the evaluating bar groups, including the Chicago Council of Lawyers." (See, In defense of the Supreme Court's recent practice of recalling appointed judges who've lost in a primary election.)

The reader's email suggested I take another look at the recently-appointed-then-recalled judges. And so you have the setup for this post.

The Tribune article that triggered this discussion ("State high court overrules voters on judge picks," August 26) singled out four full circuit judges recalled in 2009 who'd lost their 2008 primary bids, viz., "Martin Coghlan, the uncle of two other county judges; Lauretta Higgins Wolfson, the wife of a former appellate court judge; James Shapiro, who has contributed to Democratic campaigns; and Kenneth Fletcher."

For the 2008 primary, Judge Martin Coghlan was rated qualified by the Chicago Bar Association (CBA) and all of the Alliance bar associations that evaluated his candidacy, including the Chicago Council of Lawyers (CCL). (Neither the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago nor the Hellenic Bar Association evaluated Coghlan in 2008.) Judge Lauretta Higgins Wolfson was rated qualified by the CBA and all Alliance bar associations, including the CCL. In the 2008 primary, Judge Higgins was also endorsed by the Cook County Democratic Party; the Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No. 7; the Chicago Fire Fighters Union, Local 2; the Chicago Federation of Labor; and the Italian American Political Coalition.

Judge James Shapiro (who has already announced plans to seek election from an 8th Subcircuit seat in the 2012 primary) was rated qualified by the CBA all of the Alliance bar associations, including the CCL, in the 2008 primary. Shapiro was also rated "highly recommended" by the Northwest Suburban Bar Association (NWSBA) (not an Alliance member) in 2008 and endorsed by the Chicago Federation of Labor; the Chicago Fire Fighters Union, Local 2; the IVI-IPO; the Northeastern Illinois Chapter of the Americans for Democratic Action; Personal PAC; the Jewish Political Alliance of Illinois; and the Illinois Committee for Honest Government.

Finally, Judge Kenneth Fletcher was also rated qualified by the CBA and all of the Alliance bar associations, including the CCL for the 2008 primary. Fletcher was also rated qualified by the NWSBA and endorsed by the Chicago Federation of Labor, IVI-IPO, Personal PAC, the Italian American Political Coalition, and the Jewish Political Alliance of Illinois.

The Tribune article also mentioned two judges by name who lost primary bids in 2010 and were then recalled to service, Michael Ian Bender and Pamela Leeming.

Judge Bender was rated qualified by the CBA and all of the Alliance bar associations, including the CCL, for the 2010 primary. In addition, Bender received endorsements for his unsuccessful 9th Subcircuit primary bid from the Chicago Tribune; the Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge No. 7; the Chicago Fire Fighters Union, Local 2; the Chicago Federation of Labor; and the Illinois Committee for Honest Government.

However, Judge Leeming was not rated qualified by the Chicago Council of Lawyers at the time of the 2010 primary -- but the Council's rating was based on the Council's 2004 associate judge evaluation (which was reviewed in 2009, at the time of her appointment to the bench). In that evaluation, the Council stated, "Ms. Leeming is considered to have good legal ability and temperament. The Council is concerned, however, about the lack of breadth and depth in her legal experience, as well as an absence of sufficient experience in more complex litigation matters." The CBA rated Judge Leeming qualified for the 2010 primary, stating that she had "extensive trial and appellate experience [in the Public Defender's office, where she'd worked since 1990] and is well regarded for her integrity and fine temperament." All of the other Alliance bar associations gave Judge Leeming a rating of recommended or qualified.

Of course, today's list only covers those judges who lost primary bids in 2008 or 2010 and who were recalled to service by the Illinois Supreme Court and who had the distinction of being singled out in the recent Tribune article. There may still have been other judges appointed by the Supreme Court since the one incident I remember from 2007 where the initial appointment was opposed by a large number of bar associations -- although I still don't think so. I would submit, however, that this record demonstrates that the Supreme Court has been quite careful, at least in recent years, to 'recall' judges who would generally (if not in every case unanimously, as I had erroneously claimed) meet with the approval of the bar associations, even though the judges in question did not have long experience on the bench before their 'retirements.' It's a moot point now, I suppose, since the Supreme Court has announced it will no longer recall such judges. I will leave it to others to argue whether this move benefits the public.