Posted on 05/18/2019 8:03:59 AM PDT by PBRCat
A Cook County judge on Friday swatted down a request that a judge from outside the county make the decision whether a special prosecutor should be appointed to investigate the abrupt dismissal of charges against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett.
During a long and sometimes testy hearing, Judge Michael Toomin rejected the request by Sheila O'Brien, a former appellate judge, saying she had failed to show that Cook County judges would be too prejudiced to make the decision.
Toomin also denied O'Brien's attempt -- hastily written out longhand during the hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building-- to automatically substitute Toomin with another Cook County judge.
Toomin, however, left open the door for O'Brien to file a motion -- known as a change of venue -- to move the matter outside Cook County or to ask the Illinois Supreme Court to overrule Toomin.
O'Brien strongly hinted during the hearing that she would take her fight to the Supreme Court.
Toomin set a hearing for May 31 on whether he should appoint a special prosecutor. But that proceeding could be delayed or nixed if O'Brien asks the Supreme Court to intervene.
Toomin also tossed out subpoenas that O'Brien had issued for State's Attorney Kim Foxx and her top deputy to produce documents, saying they were premature and she had not adequately proven they were necessary.
Toomin is presiding over the matter after LeRoy Martin Jr., the presiding judge of the Circuit Court's Criminal Division, stepped aside last week from considering the issue. O'Brien had asked Martin to recuse himself, saying he faced a conflict since his son works a Cook County prosecutor and Foxx possibly being called as a witness. Martin declined to formally recuse himself but transferred the case to Toomin, saying he did so to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
I can smell this stench of this 2 sates away.
Huh? There’s still a case?
Apparently a lot of people, including a black police chief, think there is.
Man, that ship sailed a LONG time ago!
Judge Michael Toomin; Appointed in 2012. Ummm, let me see, who was president then?
A rich, black, Obama connected, communist Hollyweird homo being held accountable in Chicago? What could possibly go wrong?
This is a county judge not federal.
A working group has been organized to study the feasibility of creating a committee that will recommend members of a county commission who could make the hard political decision of whether Toomin should nominate a panel of jurists charged with selecting a special investigator whose findings will be sealed, not have the force of law, and kept in vault in the middle Beverly Hills in somebody else’s name.
Whew! That's one heck of a sentence! I'd hate to have to diagram that! :-)
LOL
The diagram looks like a plate of spaghetti.
Egad. A 68-word masterpiece. That sort of thing wins awards in liberal arts academic journals.
Sorry my mistake
Smell likea the Cook countysheriff’s sewers areyou backing up.
Hey,here’s an idea...why don’t they turn the case over to the local US Attorney.Given that Jessie (yes,I know...the misspelling is intentional) violated at least several Federal laws the DOJ,under the courageous leadership of AG William Barr,is *the* agency to get to the bottom of this!
It was not an Obama appointment. Toomin is a local state judge, not a Federal judge.
:-)!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.