- A hearing on a request for a special prosecutor in the Jussie Smollett case quickly switched its focus Thursday from the “Empire” actor to the judge on the bench.
The proceedings grew unexpectedly heated when Sheila O’Brien, a retired appellate judge pushing for the special prosecutor, filed last-minute paperwork suggesting that Cook County Judge LeRoy Martin Jr. recuse himself from deciding the issue because his son has worked as a county prosecutor since last year.
O’Brien contended that would put Martin in a precarious position if State’s Attorney Kim Foxx was called as a witness in the proceedings.
Perhaps Martin Jr can "recuse" himself, but not really do it....like Crimesha?
Retired Judge Sheila O'Brien got in a great zinger during proceedings though:
Retired Judge Sheila O'Brien got in a great zinger during proceedings though:
- Martin, the presiding judge of the Circuit Court’s Criminal Division, also appeared frustrated that O’Brien expected him to decide on the matter at the last minute. That led to a testy exchange between the two.
“You stepped up and 10 minutes ago you file-stamped this and dropped this on my desk, and (you) tell me that I need to decide this issue that you’ve just made an issue a few moments ago,” he said. “Like you, I wasn’t aware of --”
“You weren’t aware your son was a state’s attorney?” O’Brien interrupted.
That's going to leave a mark.
No mention that Judge Martin Jr is the namesake of former Superintendent LeRoy Martin, so we imagine that the judge is intimately familiar with Chicago Machine politics and the mere appearance of impropriety - that is to say, if it seems inappropriate in Chicago, it's inappropriate.
No mention that Judge Martin Jr is the namesake of former Superintendent LeRoy Martin, so we imagine that the judge is intimately familiar with Chicago Machine politics and the mere appearance of impropriety - that is to say, if it seems inappropriate in Chicago, it's inappropriate.
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