CBA Record July-August 2021

Judicial Evaluation Committee Adapts to Accommodate Changes During Pandemic By Ann Glynn, CBA Public Affairs Director T he CBA has a long history of judicial evaluation dating back to before the turn of the last century.

Evaluations have taken many forms over the years, from running a “Bar Ticket” in 1887 to the present comprehensive procedure adopted in 1976. The Judicial Evaluation Committee (JEC) is the CBA’s semi-autonomous committee that evaluates candidates for judicial offices and sitting judges seek- ing retention within Cook County. The evaluations are designed to inform the public and the courts of the qualifications, independence, and integrity of judicial candidates. As a public service, the CBA reports the JEC findings for all elections. By providing these findings, The CBA seeks to inform and educate the public about the upcoming judicial contests in the primary and general elections. The Association’s 200-member Judicial Evaluation Committee annually invests thousands of volunteer attorney hours in this comprehensive and diverse peer review process. But this past year was a year like no other. Soon after the March 17, 2020 pri- mary, the reality of the pandemic became apparent. “Just days after the March pri- mary, everything came to a standstill,” said Risa Lanier, Chair of the JEC. “Offices and courts closed, and we were forced to quickly assess how to move forward. The importance of our work compelled us to find a way.”

Find a way, they did. Operating in a world shut down by the pandemic, the JEC needed to adapt their interview and investigation process to continue conduct- ing evaluations. They also faced a shortage of volunteer investigators to perform the important legwork of investigations. The JEC amended their rules to expe- dite the interview process for qualified candidates, conduct hearings virtually instead of in-person, and waive the medi- cal authorization requirement. “The JEC is constantly evaluating our process. These changes did not fundamen- tally change our function or the criteria we use for the evaluation process,” said Lanier. “The changes were procedural and wholly necessary for us to continue this important

work during these unprecedented times.” The Committee most recently finished evaluations for 233 Associate Judges. During this process, the JEC conducted 103 investigation and 38 hearings via Zoom. Next, the JECwill start evaluations for the next slate of judicial candidates in the fall. The JEC is recruiting for new inves- tigators to join the Committee in the 2021-2022 bar year. Being an investigator provides opportunities to learn many dif- ferent areas of the law and expand personal and professional networks. If you are interested in learning more about the Judicial Evaluation Committee or in being an investigator, contactTherese Kurth at tkurth@chicagobar.org.

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16 July/August 2021