Before Leonard Hoffman became a judge in 1950, his astute legal mind and passionate pleas for clients as an attorney made him a formidable foe in the courtroom.
“Back in those days, lawyers were more like orators. We went in there and we could yell as loud as we wanted to, pound on the table and wave our hands in the air and point the finger at the other guy,” said August Black, a former colleague and occasional adversary. “He knew all the techniques. … He knew how to win.”
When Black would hear that Judge Hoffman was his opponent, he said, “I knew I had a battle. He was a tough one to settle with.”
“I was glad when he became a judge and he got out of the practice,” Black joked.
Judge Hoffman, 85, of Morris, who was a county, circuit and appellate judge in Illinois for more than three decades and presided over hundreds of cases, including the Starved Rock murders, died of a stroke Saturday, Jan. 24, in Rosewood Care Center, Joliet.
Born and raised in Dwight, Ill., Judge Hoffman received a law degree from the University of Chicago in 1940.
He served in the Army during World War II and fought in Europe, taking part in D-Day. He received a Bronze Star but rarely mentioned it.
“He sensed the real heroes were the ones who never came back, and he preferred not to talk about it,” Black said.
After the war, Judge Hoffman moved to Morris and set up a legal practice. In 1946 he married a young widow and adopted her two daughters. They had two more children.
In 1949 Judge Hoffman became the Morris city attorney, and in 1950 he was elected county judge. In 1957 he was elected circuit judge, and from 1959 to 1964 he was on the appellate court.
Judge Hoffman oversaw a variety of cases, including the Starved Rock murders. On March 14, 1960, three suburban mothers were beaten to death in Starved Rock State Park. A park employee was convicted and is serving a life sentence.
Judge Hoffman was known for being firm but fair.
“He ran a tight courtroom,” Black said. “I always said when I was right I’d want to see him, and when I was wrong I didn’t want to see him. He could spot right away a hole in your case–and he’d let you know it.”
After retiring from the bench in 1984, Judge Hoffman joined the board of directors of the First National Bank of Dwight and later became chairman.
Judge Hoffman finally retired in 2002.
Throughout his life, Judge Hoffman was proud of his family and the law, said his son, Leonard III. Judge Hoffman once said that “if he had to make a living working with his hands, we would have starved,” his son said. “He was not a very talented hand person. But brain-wise, he had it.”
Other survivors include his wife, Marjorie; daughters Valerie Hatcher and Deborah Moffett; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandsons.
Services have been held.
