Criminal Court Judge Ronald Himel announced Wednesday that he would retire from the bench, resolving a throbbing headache for many who didn’t quite know what to do about his controversial courtroom antics.
A judge for nearly two decades, Himel stated that his friends, colleagues and mentors “have persuaded me that my personality, training and skills are more suited at this stage of my professional career to the role of courtroom advocate.”
Good for them. And good for Himel for yielding, finally, to better judgment. Himel’s understanding of the law never was questioned, but his demeanor was–for good reason.
Criticism of Himel reached a crescendo in recent months for the way he handled several cases, particularly the trial of three sheriff’s officers accused of beating an inmate to death.
Himel constantly interrupted the prosecution’s witnesses and questioned their credibility. He acted with such hostility toward assistant state’s attorneys that they finally filed an unusual (and unsuccessful) request to restart the trial with a different judge.
In another case following Himel’s acquittal of the sheriff’s officers, he invited a group of high school students observing his courtroom to question a witness who was testifying in a trial.
It’s not as though Dr. Jekyll became Mr. Hyde overnight. Prosecutors and defense attorneys had long known about his imperious courtroom temperament. Himel just had the additional bad sense and the hubris to engage in that kind of conduct during high-profile trials, when reporters happened to be around, pencils wagging, to record every outburst.
Years ago that kind of behavior might have been laughed off over a scotch. That started to change with the no-nonsense approach of former Cook County Chief Judge Donald O’Connell. His successor, Judge Timothy Evans, and Chief Criminal Courts Judge Paul Biebel have signaled that they, too, won’t laugh off bad behavior on the bench. Himel was ordered to undergo anger management classes and assigned a panel of judges to mentor him on courtroom procedures, decorum and rules of evidence while he took a forced, paid “personal leave.”
But Biebel and Evans didn’t have the power to remove Himel from the bench. That resides with the Illinois Courts Commission, which hears judicial misconduct cases brought by the Judicial Inquiry Board. They have a reputation for coddling judges. It’s time they become more intolerant of those who exhibit bad conduct, because they still have problems on their hands.
Exhibit A: Judge Francis X. Golniewicz, who allegedly intimidated defendants and berated jurors, according to a complaint filed last month by the Judicial Inquiry Board. The Board also has been investigating Himel.
Why is this such a big deal? Because a judge sets the tone that determines whether people have confidence in the judicial system. That tone has to make it clear to anyone who steps foot inside the courtroom that he may not get the verdict he wants, but he will be treated with dignity and get a fair and impartial day in court.
