The names of 22 new associate judges, selected in a vote of Cook County Circuit Court judges, were announced today by Marcia M. Meis, Director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts.
Ballots listing the names of 44 finalists, chosen from 225 candidates, were distributed to 249 circuit judges. Ballots were due September 7, 2021.
Five of the 22 new associate judges had previously served on the bench. These are Maryam Ahmad, Lloyd James Brooks, James Thomas Derico, Jr., Kerrie Elizabeth Maloney Laytin, and Anthony Charles Swanagan.
There were no ties this time, and no write-in winners. Four of the five finalists who had appeared on prior short lists were selected, including three of the four carryovers from the 2019 short list (Brooks, Eric Michael Sauceda, and Theresa Marie Smith Conyers). Former Judge Maryam Ahmad was a short list finalist in 2016.
Here is the complete list of the 22 new associate judges:
- Maryam Ahmad
- Lloyd James Brooks
- Barbara Lynette Dawkins
- James Thomas Derico, Jr.
- Sabra Lynne Ebersole
- Carl Lauras Evans, Jr.
- William Nicholas Fahy
- Barbara Nubia Flores
- Mitchell Benjamin Goldberg
- Jasmine Villaflor Hernandez
- Matthew William Jannusch
- Martha-Victoria Jimenez
- Diana Elena Lopez
- Kerrie Elizabeth Maloney Laytin
- Thomas A. Morrissey
- James Bryan Novy
- Eric Michael Sauceda
- Theresa Marie Smith Conyers
- Ankur Srivastava
- Pamela J. Stratigakis
- Anthony Charles Swanagan
- Andreana Ann Turano
Supreme Court Rule 39 provides that the term for all associate judges expires on June 30, 2023. The 22 judges appointed today, as well as those associate judges currently serving, must seek reappointment from their full circuit colleagues by July 1, 2023. There are 146 associate judge positions currently authorized for Cook County.
I cant understand with the depth of experience that none of the 4 public defenders made the final list! Makes me very grateful I'm retired!
ReplyDeleteIf it came to experience, lots of people would not have been finalists much less, winners. Not just this list but ALL past lists. That court is top heavy with too many ASAs and PD’s. Want more? Then run.
ReplyDeleteExperience of pd less useful than that of state.
ReplyDeleteWinning this election has nothing to do with merit, silly rabbit. By the way, tricks are for kids. The real question is how many of these winners will still attempt to run for full circuit slots next year? Lopez has a killer ballot name. Then again, so do Dartesia Pitts and Dawn Gonzalez. And Toni likes lots of ladies on the ticket whenever she runs for County Board President.
ReplyDeleteDomonique Ross (Appellate)
Countywides
Rena Marie Van Tine
Araceli de La Cruz
Dawn Gonzalez
Dartesia Pitts
[insert name for innocuous gay male, preferably of color with strong ballot name ala Levander Smith or Robert Harris, but not a "Derico"]
[filler - target for the Irish gals]
[filler - target for the Irish gals]
[filler - target for the Irish gals]
This slate is all but written itself once the vacancies start coming. The true loser in this process: Circuit Judge Sanjay Taylor. How can you make Blanchard your guy and not get him across the finish line, to the detriment of your Indian brothers and sisters? Perhaps you should run in 9th Sub. Need some help on that decision? Ok. Ask yourself what the Sauganash Four (or is it five now) are planning as we speak. Perhaps you should start smoking some medicinal marijuana, because, countywide, that's the only Mary Jane that can help you now.
Sincerely,
/s/ Only The Shadow Knows
You'd think this process would produce the best future judges but, again, it won't. For the most part there are some great choices but I know a few of the winners and Evans will have a hard time hiding them.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what's worse: the lame lemmings that won, or how Evans and Company had to put up even lamer lemmings to make so many of these lemmings seem palatable? Then again, I knew plenty of unsuccessful aspirants in the applicant pool who will trash these lemmings when they, themselves, are way bigger lemmings. Lawyers, you gotta love 'em.
ReplyDeleteSo Say We All
Hey, Anon 9/10, you mentioned "filler" candidates to act as targets for "Irish gals," but you clearly forgot that Black women (translation: Iesha Smith) and Latinas (translation: Rosa Silva and/or Gonzalez) are the "new Irish gals." Duffy didn't read the memo. Smith did and Maloney Laytin got her consolation prize.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that Pitts and Gonzalez and a bunch of other women of color have read the memo and 2022 will include a thunderstorm seeking female empowerment in the state court judiciary -- including a run at the Office of the Chief Judge. (But that's a post for the summer of 2022).
I already have a campaign slogan for them: "Empowered Women Empower Women!"
Unfortunately I cannot charge a royalty for it because it has been stolen from numerous past elections. But it has proven quite successful in the past and with the threat to Roe v. Wade, plenty of Cook County female voters will want what they PERCEIVE to be women judges who will protect Roe. What they don't understand is that a sizeable number of female judicial candidates in this county are just claiming to be Democrats and oppose abortion. But the opportunists will do what they do and take advantage of the perception and ballot names to win a robe and then not come to work for the next 6 years.
/s/ J. Edgar Hoover Is Watching
Do you think we have enough former ASA’s or could we use some more?
ReplyDeleteSupremes just filled another countywide, Jack. Former AJ short poster from several years back.
ReplyDeleteRuth Gudino filling Cara Smith vacancy -- she resigned.
ReplyDelete