Is this Arrogance of Judicial Power?

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

Last week, Attorney Nancy Murphy had a busy day in court and just planned to arrive home for dinner and tuck her kids in bed. However, the family law attorney was stunned when she was handcuffed and taken to a filthy cell to spend the night.

Murphy said that she has no idea why Judge Mark Lopez, Cook County Associate, held her in contempt and ordered the guards to throw her in jail. All she remembers was that she was in Daley Center, specifically in Lopez’s courtroom, and representing a client seeking for child support payments.

Then, after the hearing, she filled out a form containing the rescheduling of the case for July 9. Lopez needs to sign this document so he took it to his chambers. When he came out, he said something about the document and told the sheriff to take her into custody.

The confused Murphy was handcuffed while Lopez wrote that he’s holding her in “direct civil contempt” because she ignored the court’s direct instruction on what to include in the document. As a result, Murphy was strip-searched and spent one night in jail.

Meanwhile, a divorce attorney who regularly practiced in Lopez’s courtroom was quoted to describe the judge as “courteous” and “extremely professional.” On the other hand, Professor Len Cavise of DePaul University advised that if the allegations of Murphy are true, then this is an example of “arrogance of judicial power,” and this judge must be disciplined by Illinois Supreme Court.

Tags: attorney, Cook County, divorce attorney, family law, Illinois Supreme Court, Judge Mark Lopez, Nancy Murphy
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