Criminal Justice
Chicago lawyer is charged with battery in courthouse altercation with client
A Chicago criminal defense lawyer has been charged with simple battery in connection with a late November altercation with a then-client in a holding cell at the Cook County criminal courts building.
The charge against lawyer Joseph Lopez is a misdemeanor, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Lopez told the Sun-Times after the incident that “whatever occurred was in self-defense.”
According to the newspaper, Lopez “is known for his colorful wardrobe and equally colorful defenses of notorious clients,” including a convicted mob hitman and former police officer Drew Peterson, convicted of murdering his third wife.
