Former Greylord Defendant will become a Cook County Judge

Operation Greylord was one of those bright-line events in my career (Wikipedia, FBI links provided for the Millennials and Zoomers who may be unfamiliar). Before Greylord, young attorneys like me could prowl the hallways behind the courtrooms at the Daley Center, deliver courtesy copies, kibbitz with the judges' law clerks (some of whom we knew from school), and sometimes even exchange non-ex parte pleasantries with actual judges. When I did stuff like this, I felt connected (dangerous word choice there, I suppose) -- well, put it this way: Hanging around the chambers hallways, when I could, made me feel a part of the larger legal profession, something more than just a junior associate in a small firm.

After Greylord... well... those of you with young children or grandchildren may be familiar with the Kiboomers video, "The Floor is Lava." I don't know what came first -- there is a Floor is Lava board game, and a TV game show, too -- all I know is that, after Greylord, access to the chambers areas became much more restricted, even for lawyers having business in those courts. Especially for lawyers having business in those courts. Doors were locked. There was no more wandering about. The floor might as well have been lava.

I still think that isolating judges from the lawyers appearing before them was a mistake: The more innocent foot traffic, the more curious eyeballs taking in the sights, the more small talk -- the less opportunity for shenanigans or skulduggery. But no one asked me. Ever.

In addition to indictments against 17 judges, the Greylord investigation resulted in criminal charges against a number of deputy sheriffs, police officers, court clerks, and (according to the linked Wikipedia article, supra) 48 lawyers.

Among these lawyers was Ralph Meczyk.

Meczyk and his one-time law partner pled guilty to federal income tax charges in 1987, according to this Tribune article by Maurice Possley. I'm reprinting large portions of it here:

Two former law firm partners pleaded guilty Monday to federal income tax charges arising from the Operation Greylord investigation of Cook County Circuit Court.

Lebert D. Bastianoni, 48, and Ralph Meczyk, 36, who formerly practiced in their firm, Bastianoni & Meczyk, admitted they failed to report a combined total income of about $35,800 earned in 1980 from their representation of criminal defendants.

Bastianoni... and Meczyk... both pleaded guilty to filing a false partnership income tax return for 1980 and false individual returns for the same year.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Thomas Scorza said that the two men earned $60,700 from their representation of criminal defendants in 1980, which was paid them through cash bond refund checks sent out by the Circuit Court clerk's office. The charges were brought after the Internal Revenue Service conducted a computer analysis of the cash bond refund checks sent to Bastianoni and Meczyk and determined that the defendants had underreported their income.

Meczyk told U.S. District Judge Marvin Aspen that he and Bastianoni had left the Cook County public defender`s office and went into private practice together.

"We had an incredibly horrible bookkeeping system," Meczyk said.

"Because of our sloppiness and our foolishness, I've realized my mistake. I did understate my income."

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The men are the 59th and 60th individuals to be convicted on charges stemming from the Greylord investigation....

Meczyk is now unopposed for a 13th Subcircuit seat in the March Democratic primary. No Republican has filed for that seat, so Meczyk is almost certain to win election next November.

Bar evaulations for this year's candidates are not available at this time, and will not be available until much closer to the March primary.

However, this is not the first time Meczyk has sought election to the bench.

He ran for a 12th Subcircuit vacancy in 2014 and participated in the CBA and Alliance evaluations at that time. Meczyk had nearly unanimous favorable ratings then, as FWIW reported.

In fact, Meczyk's only negative evaluation came from the Chicago Council of Lawyers. It read:

Eugene Meczyk was admitted to practice in 1977. He is a sole practitioner. Mr. Meczyk is a highly respected practitioner with substantial litigation experience in complex matters. He is praised for his temperament and his legal ability. Several years ago in a past evaluation, the Council said the following:

“Without further consideration, the Council would find Mr. Meczyk qualified for the bench. The Council is concerned, however, that Mr. Meczyk was convicted for failing to report income on his partnership and tax returns in 1980. He claims that he and his law partner did not keep adequate records and when he filed his tax return in 1981, he underreported the 1980 income. Judge Aspen sentenced him to a 30 day work release program, four years probation, a fine, and 500 hours of community service. He was censured by the ARDC in 1988, and ordered to permit the ARDC or its designee to review his bookkeeping from time to time for up to two years. Mr. Meczyk was pardoned fully and unconditionally by President Bill Clinton in December 2000. The Council as a matter of policy, is unable to find Mr. Meczyk qualified due to his past felony conviction.”

While the current evaluation of Mr. Meczyk establishes that he is still considered to be a good litigator, the Council as a matter of policy, is unable to find him qualified due to his past felony conviction.

I don't know Ralph Meczyk. I don't believe we've ever met. And I do not pretend for one moment to know whether he will be a good judge or a bad one.

What I do know -- or at least what I think I can predict, with a high degree of certainty -- is that someone in the media, here or on the national level, will, at some point in this election cycle, stumble upon the candidacy of Mr. Meczyk and, grabbing onto the Greylord conviction, attempt to frame him as a poster child for all that is wrong and corrupt in Cook County generally and in our court system in particular.

Yes, we have problems in Cook County and with our courts in particular. There are serious people who question whether our state and local governments generally, and some of our elected officials and judges in particular, have become too accommodating toward criminal defendants at the expense of crime victims and society in general.

But a productive discussion on that serious question will not in any way be aided by propping up Mr. Meczyk as a 'horrible example' and bleating nonsense like in Crook County (har, har) they coddle crooks so much, they even make felons into judges.... I think that's totally unfair. Unfair to Mr. Meczyk, who has apparently recovered from a serious blunder to become, in the judgment of his peers, a highly respected practitioner. Unfair, too, to persons who care about serious issues that are derailed and trivialized by carnival barkers spouting snarky slogans.

And, yes, I realize that no one cares what I think fair or unfair.

But I have here attempted to ascertain the available facts on this subject and to lay them out fairly. Will this head off any hullabaloo? Probably not. But I wanted to try anyway.