CHICAGO _ The Cook County judge who allowed a law clerk to wear her robe and hear traffic cases this summer was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and can no longer perform her duties, the state board that oversees judges said in documents Friday.
The Judicial Inquiry Board charged that Judge Valarie Turner has memory loss and is "mentally unable" to do her job. The board made no allegation, however, that Turner had engaged in any misconduct when she allowed law clerk Rhonda Crawford to put on her judicial robe and hear three traffic cases during the afternoon court call at the county courthouse in south suburban Markham.
At the time, Crawford had won the Democratic primary for the 1st Judicial Subcircuit and was unopposed in the general election.
Turner had been assigned to administrative duties following the Aug. 11 incident. The filing would seem to signal the end of her legal career, although the board, in its filing to the Illinois Courts Commission, says the commission should simply take "appropriate" action.
Turner's lawyer, Gino DiVito, said there was no reason for the matter to be referred to the Illinois Courts Commission.
Instead, he said, it should have been handled by the judge's retirement system.
"Valarie Turner has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. In spite of this, the Judicial Inquiry Board has filed a complaint with the Courts Commission," DiVito said in a statement Friday. "Ms. Turner is charged with no misconduct. She therefore has done nothing that would justify any sanction that could be imposed by the commission. In essence, the Judicial Inquiry Board has charged her only with having Alzheimer's disease.
"This," he added, "sets a terrible precedent for any judge who, like Ms. Turner, has an illness that she did not cause and cannot control."
DiVito said Turner is applying for disability status.
The charges will be considered by the courts commission, which then will decide how to rule on the matter, according to officials.
The incident began after Crawford spent the morning observing Turner on the bench. During the afternoon, however, Turner told the courtroom that they were going to switch judges and that Crawford _ who Turner has said she thought was a judge _ would take over.
Crawford then heard the three cases.
Chief Judge Timothy Evans, whose office had hired Crawford as a law clerk/staff attorney, responded to the embarrassing incident by firing her from her $57,000-a-year job. He reassigned Turner to administrative duties, and she has been on medical leave since Aug. 22.
A week before the Nov. 8 general election, the Illinois Supreme Court barred Crawford from taking the bench even if she won and suspended her law license.
The unprecedented action came after state lawyer disciplinary officials asked the court to suspend Crawford and after Cook County prosecutors charged her with one count of official misconduct, a felony, and one count of false impersonation, a misdemeanor.
Crawford has pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Maryam Ahmad, a sitting judge in Maywood, waged a spirited but long-shot write-in campaign against Crawford but lost. The state Board of Elections declared Crawford the winner, although the seat will remain vacant because she has been barred from taking office.
