Illinois Judge Reelected Despite Being Barred From Courthouse, Suspended From The Bench, And Charged With Battery Of A Police Officer

We previously discussed the bizarre case of Cook County Judge Cynthia Brim, a judge in Markham, Illinois who has been barred from entering the courthouse without police escort and has a prior arrest for assault. Well, Cook County voters have now returned her to the bench in the election this week. She was reelected despite the fact that she is currently in court not as a judge but as a criminal defendant asserting an insanity defense. She was reelected the same week as Jesse Jackson Jr. who is currently housed in the Mayo Clinic for mental illness while reportedly negotiating his own plea bargain to criminal charges.

Brim was suspended by a judicial panel after being charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly shoving a sheriff’s deputy in a Chicago courthouse and throwing keys at the officer.

A court-appointed psychiatrist testified that Brim was legally insane when she allegedly shoved the officer and, like Jackson, has bipolar disorder. She won reelection by the same margin as Jackson – 63.5 percent of the vote — despite opposition by the Chicago bar association. She will therefore continue to collect her $182,000 annual salary despite being suspended and unable to walk into the courthouse without a police escort.

Source: Chicago Tribuen