DUI judge is ousted by fellow jurists; did courtroom cameras contribute to his defeat?
An Illinois judge responsible for presiding over felony drunken driving cases has been ousted by a vote of his fellow jurists after several of his sentencing hearings were recorded and posted online.
The sentencing hearings by the Champaign County judge, Richard Klaus, were among the most polarizing in the area’s courtroom cameras program, the Champaign News-Gazette reports. He has served for 10 years.
Associate judges are reviewed every four years by elected circuit judges. The last time any associate judges were ousted in the 6th Circuit, where Klaus served, was in 1979.
Chief Judge Dan Flannell told the News-Gazette that the problem was “a confidence issue.” The collective feeling of the judges who voted, Flannell surmised, was that the public and lawyers had lost confidence in Klaus “in almost every factor other than his legal ability. He’s a great lawyer.”
An April poll of lawyers by the Illinois State Bar Association gave Klaus the lowest marks of judges in his district in several categories, including temperament, impartiality and meeting the requirements of office, the story says. Defense lawyers have criticized his drunken driving sentences as too harsh.
Klaus told the News-Gazette he was grateful for the opportunity to serve as a judge, but offered no other comment.
