Law clerk accused of ruling on cases can't be a judge if she wins election, Illinois high court says
A law clerk/staff attorney accused of impersonating a Cook County judge can’t be a judge if she wins the election, the Illinois Supreme Court has decided.
The court on Monday suspended Rhonda Crawford’s law license and barred her from the judgeship if she wins her uncontested election, report the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Associated Press. The court ruled in response to a petition by lawyer disciplinary regulators.
The ban on taking the bench remains effective “until further order of the court.” A write-in candidate, Maryam Ahmad, has asked the Illinois Supreme Court to bar the counting of any votes for Crawford, “which would throw the election to Ahmad,” according to the Sun-Times.
Crawford is accused of donning judicial robes and ruling in traffic court cases in August as part of a shadowing process. She was indicted in October on a felony charge of official misconduct and a misdemeanor charge of false impersonation. She was also fired from her job.
Crawford, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, has said she was under the direction of a judge during the incident. She had sought to remain in the judicial race, but had told the state supreme court she wouldn’t oppose an order that would ban her from the bench until resolution of the pending ethics case.
