Editorial: Do your homework. Then vote 'no' on bad judges.

We write a lot about holding police officers, public officials and others accountable for their actions. Does that apply to judges too?

You have to wonder.

Earlier this month, Cook County Judge Joseph Claps was acquitted of a misdemeanor by another judge who refused to “speculate” that the object Claps dropped in the courthouse lobby was a gun.

Two Cook County sheriff’s deputies who witnessed the oopsie testified that it was a gun. Surveillance video backed them up. But Will County Judge Edward Burmila, who was brought in to hear the case, could only shrug after Claps’ lawyer suggested it could have been a water pistol or a cigar lighter or “almost anything.”

Claps, of course, knows what fell out of his jacket. But he didn’t testify, and Burmila let him off the hook.

We don’t think for a minute that this would have been a winning strategy for an ordinary citizen.

Nor do we think it will succeed with the Judicial Inquiry Board, which is investigating. That could lead to discipline by the Illinois Courts Commission. In the meantime, the judge collects a six-digit salary while assigned to administrative duty.

Disgusted? All you can do in this case is trust the disciplinary system to do its job. Now let’s talk about yours.

At the bottom of Tuesday’s Cook County ballot are the names of 59 Circuit Court judges seeking retention. Your job is to decide whether they deserve another six years on the bench. Are you prepared to hold them accountable? Cook County voters have that power, but they rarely exercise it.

Once elected, judges need a 60 percent “yes” vote every six years. The last time voters removed a sitting judge was 1990.

We’re reminded of former Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Brim, charged in March 2012 with misdemeanor battery on a sheriff’s deputy after a disturbing courtroom rant about race, justice and “kahoonas.” She was acquitted by reason of insanity. She’d been suspended with pay for more than two years by the time the courts commission removed her from the bench in 2014.

Voters could have removed her themselves long before that. Local bar associations had rated her unqualified for the bench in 2000, 2006 and 2012, based on a rigorous vetting process that typically identifies a handful of incompetent judges. But too few voters availed themselves of this valuable resource.

You can see the current ratings at voteforjudges.org.

In makings its endorsements, the Tribune relies heavily on that research, as well as interviews with judges and lawyers. This year, we urge you to use the punch numbers provided to vote “no” on Maura Slattery Boyle (228); Matthew Coghlan (232); and Lisa Ann Marino (314). You can read our endorsement here. 

Want to hold judges accountable? Do your homework. Then do your job.

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Editorial: Do your homework. Then vote 'no' on bad judges.