Former Cook County attorney indefinitely suspended from practicing law

Former Cook County attorney Timothy Scannell has been suspended indefinitely from practicing law in an order filed by the state Supreme Court.

Scannell was convicted last summer on two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual misconduct related to his relationship with a 17-year-old girl. He was accused of kissing and touching the girl -- a family friend -- in a sexual way on two different instances in 2012.

He blamed his conduct on post-traumatic stress disorder after he was shot and wounded at the county courthouse in Grand Marais in 2011. A defendant whom he had just prosecuted for having sex with a 15-year-old fired the gun.

Scannell is also accused of making derogatory statements on his blog about criminal defendants that he was in the process of prosecuting, according to the Supreme Court’s order filed Wednesday.

The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility petitioned the court for disciplinary action against Scannell, who “unconditionally admitted the allegations in the petition,” according to the order.

Scannell agreed that the appropriate discipline was an indefinite suspension with no right to petition for reinstatement for three years, the order said.

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Former Cook County attorney indefinitely suspended from practicing law