Judge confident in case against Illinois Supreme Court justices

By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – A retired Cook County judge says he has great confidence in his case against justices of the Illinois Supreme Court.

The Liberty Justice Center filed the civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Wednesday against the state’s high court justices for what it said was the unconstitutional removal of Cook County Judge James R. Brown.

The Illinois Supreme Court recalled the retired judge in December to fill judicial vacancies but then removed him in January after the Cook County Bar Association and the Chicago Council of Lawyers objected to an opinion column and podcast appearance Brown made months earlier while retired.

Liberty Justice Center Senior Counsel Brendan Philbin said Brown’s article discussed the weaponization of the judicial system against President Donald Trump and other issues that could be characterized as right of center.

Brown said it was shocking to him that anyone would question his integrity based on politics.

“When my robe goes on, my politics are left at the door and nothing matters to me other than my oath of office, the law and the facts of the case, nothing else,” Brown told The Center Square.

According to Philbin, the Illinois Constitution provides only two ways to remove a judge from the bench.

“One is impeachment by the legislature, and the other way is through a complaint process that ends up at the Illinois Courts Commission,” Philbin told The Center Square.

Philbin said the Illinois Supreme Court basically wrote a one-sentence order vacating Brown’s appointment without holding hearings.

“Our suit seeks to remedy that injustice, because what the Supreme Court did violated two pretty significant rights that we have as Americans,” said Philbin, citing the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment.

Philbin said the Illinois Supreme Court is seeking to apply the state’s code of judicial ethics to all retired judges.

“They either can exercise their First Amendment rights and speak on matters of public concern, but then foreclose the opportunity to come back and fill a vacancy like Judge Brown did, or these retired justices can stifle their right to speech and keep everything quiet in hopes that there may be a retirement down the road,” Philbin said.

Philbin said more than 300 Illinois judges have retired since 2019.

“That’s a lot of individuals who are placed in this really difficult situation of whether to exercise their First Amendment rights and foreclose their right to come back to be a judge,” Philbin said.

Brown was asked by The Center Square how much confidence he had going up against the Illinois Supreme Court justices who removed him.

“I have great confidence because I’ve got the Liberty Justice Center representing me and they are outstanding attorneys, led by Sara Albrecht, and I think we have a very strong case,” Brown said.

Brown said he is looking forward to his day in court.