RACIST UNQUALIFIED JUDGE APPOINTED TO THE BENCH DUE TO SKIN COLOR AND IS REINING TERRORISTS TACTICS IN THE 4TH DIVISION ILLINOIS APPELLATE COURT

SEE THE MAY 28TH 2015 POST MOTION FOR DISQUALIFICATION OF JUDGE ET AL

James F. SMITH

  

Present Judicial Duties

Justice, Illinois Appellate Court, First District, Sixth Division

Previous Judicial Duties

1998-2002: Judge Circuit Court, Second Municipal District; 1995-1998: Judge, Circuit Court, Law Division:

Judge, Circuit Court, First Municipal District; 1989-1994: Associate Judge, First Municipal District

Appointed Associate Judge in 1989; elected to the Circuit Court in 1992; elected to the Illinois Appellate Court in

2002.

Evaluation

11/92 (Walsh vacancy): Not Qualified

Judge Smith, 49, has been an Associate Judge since 1989. He submitted materials to the Council, but

did not appear for an interview. He currently sits in the eviction court in the First Municipal District. Lawyers

report that he is extremely pro-landlord in his duties. Indeed, the Council learned that Judge Smith refused to

honor a jury demand filed by a defendant because the defendant’s lawyer but not the defendant was present in

court. Instead, Judge Smith entered a judgment against the defendant. A supervisory judge subsequently

corrected the error by permitting defendant’s attorney to file a motion to vacate the judgment in his courtroom.

The Council believes that Judge Smith’s lack of fairness and respect for the rule of law render him not

qualified for election to the Circuit Court.

11/00 Retention – Circuit Court: Not Qualified

James Fitzgerald Smith, 57, has been a judge since 1989. He sits in the Second Municipal District

hearing both civil and criminal cases. He has also served in the Law Division and in the First Municipal District.

Judge Smith is considered to have good legal ability and to be hardworking. The judge did disclose a 1995

incident concerning racial sensitivity. The Judicial Inquiry Board ruled that no disciplinary action was

warranted. However, the Council continues to receive reports saying that his temperament can be impatient,

brusque, and irascible. The Council finds him Not Qualified.

2002 Primary & General Elections – Appellate Court: Not Qualified

The Honorable James Fitzgerald Smith has been a Circuit Court Judge for the past twelve and one-half

years. He was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1975. From 1989 through 1994, he was assigned to the First

Municipal District, Chicago, where he heard both civil and criminal matters. From 1995 through 1998, he was

assigned to Law Division, Jury, and, from 1998 through the present, he has been sitting in the Second Municipal

District, Skokie, hearing both civil and criminal matters. Judge Smith has not written many opinions during his

 

time on the bench. Nor has he had any other type of experience, e.g., publishing articles or teaching, which

would indicate that he is presently prepared to become a Justice of the Appellate Court. Moreover, the Council

has concerns over Judge Smith’s temperament. Attorneys report that Judge Smith has a bad temper. The

Judicial Inquiry Board in 1998, upon closing an investigation against Judge Smith, nonetheless admonished him

in writing for his use of profane language directed toward an attorney. Based on the foregoing, the Council finds

Judge James Fitzgerald Smith Not Qualified for the position of Appellate Court Justice.

 

Copyright 2007, Chicago Council of Lawyers. All rights reserved.

  

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