John Fleming (Illinois)
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John Fleming was a judge of the Cook County 8th Subcircuit in Illinois. He was first elected to the bench in 1996.[1][2] He retired from the bench in 2018.
Elections
2014
Fleming was retained to the Cook County 8th Subcircuit with 76.2 percent of the vote on November 4, 2014. [2]
Evaluations
The Illinois State Bar Association rated John Fleming (Illinois) as Recommended for retention in 2014.[3]
Career
Prior to his judicial election in 1996, Fleming spent one year as a solo practitioner followed by three years as deputy general attorney of the Chicago Parks District. He then spent eight years as an assistant state's attorney for Cook County.[1]
Noteworthy cases
Anthony Abbate case (2009)
Fleming presided over the case of Anthony Abbate, a suspended Chicago police officer who was caught on video beating—punching and kicking—a female bartender half his size. Six hours prior to the attack, Abbate had attacked another person in the same bar. The first attack was also captured on video. The victim, however, did not press charges.
Abbate was charged with aggravated battery. Instead of a prison sentence, Fleming handed Abbate a two year probation sentence, as well as mandatory community service and anger management classes. While prison sentences are valid for an aggravated battery charge, Fleming was to consider other factors, such as prior history and severity of injuries, before senting Abbate to prison. He found no other considerable factors.[4]
Abbate case criticism
Concerning the Abbate case, while Fleming found no other factors that would warrant a prison sentence, one factor that did go unnoticed was "breach of public faith and trust," said University of Chicago law professor Craig Futterman.[4]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chicago NOW Blogs, Chicago Council of Lawyers ’96 Evaluation: Fleming Not Qualified," June 25, 2009
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Illinois State Board of Elections, "List of judges seeking retention in the November 4, 2014 general election," accessed May 8, 2014
- ↑ Illinois State Bar Association, "Judicial Evaluations," October 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chicago Tribune, "No jail time," June 24, 2009
Federal courts:
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois
State courts:
Illinois Supreme Court • Illinois Appellate Court • Illinois Circuit Court
State resources:
Courts in Illinois • Illinois judicial elections • Judicial selection in Illinois
