Former Judge Gets Caught Mocking Lawyer On Livestream – Above the Law

Having
a
thought
doesn’t
mean
you
are
obliged
to
share
it.
That’s
where
good
judgment
comes
in,
which
is
the
sort
of
skill
you’d
expect
from
a
person
who
judges
for
a
living.
Unfortunately,
judges
make
mistakes.
Even
worse,
this
judge’s
screw-up
was
caught
on
camera.
The

Legal
Profession
Blog
has
coverage:

Judge
[William
Burnett
Raines]
has
been
charged
with
an
ethics
violation
by
the
Illinois
Administrator
for
comments
he
made
when
he
thought
he
was
not
being
live-streamed
after
a
hearing
where
counsel
had
participated
remotely

Respondent,
mistakenly
believing
that
the
virtual
feed
of
his
courtroom
had
ended,
then
engaged
in
a
conversation
with
the
Assistant
State’s
Attorneys
and
Assistant
Public
Defenders
physically
present
in
his
courtroom
about
the
just
concluded
Myles
matter,
and,
specifically,
about
Mr.
Myles’s
attorneys,
Ms.
Bonjean
and
Mr.
Kennedy.
During
that
conversation,
Respondent,
referring
to
Ms.
Bonjean,
stated:
“Did
you
see
her
going
nuts?
Glasses
off,
fingers
through
her
hair,
the
phone’s
going
all
over
the
place.
It’s
insane.”
Respondent
further
stated
that
Ms.
Bonjean’s
behavior
“was
entertaining”
for
him
and
inquired:
“Can
you
imagine
waking
up
to
her
every
day?
Oh
my
God.”
Respondent
further
stated,
“You
know
what?
I
couldn’t
have
a
visual
on
that
if
you
paid
me.
There
you
have
it.”

Judges
generally
call
the
shots
when
it
comes
to
their
courtrooms,
but
there
are
just
some
things
you
don’t
say
when
you’re
at
work!
After
catching
wind
of
Judge
Raines’s
comments,
Ms.
Bonjean
filed
to
preserve
a
recording
of
the
livestream.
Upon
hearing
that,
Judge
Raines
probably
went
nuts,
glasses
off,
fingers
through
his
hair,
wondering
why
in
the
hell
he’d
say
that
while
a
camera
was
running.
It’s
insane.

The
takeaway
lesson
should
be
that
if
the
robes
are
on,
you
are
too.
Being
buddy-buddy
with
a
coworker
doesn’t
alleviate
you
of
your
obligation
to
be
impartial
at
your
workplace.
Save
that
conversation
for
the
bar
after
hours
—
and
try
to
notice
if
you’re
being
recorded.

Loose
Lips
[Legal
Profession
Blog]

---

Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
 He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
cannot
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.