PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Twenty-two associate judges to be sworn in on October 4

Released On 10/04/2021

Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans will administer the oath of office to 22 new Circuit Court of Cook County associate judges during a virtual ceremony at 11 a.m. on Monday, October 4. The ceremony can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/user/CookCntyCourt.

The county’s 249 circuit judges selected the associate judges from a list of 44 finalists, who were chosen from 225 candidates.

The Alliance of Bar Associations and the Chicago Bar Association evaluated the candidates. Each candidate also was interviewed by an 11-member nominating committee, comprised of Judge Evans and 10 presiding judges.

Judge Evans notified Marcia M. Meis, director of the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, of the finalists on August 10. The Administrative Office conducted the election by secret ballot pursuant to the provisions of Illinois Supreme Court Rule 39, which directs that twice as many candidates be nominated as there are vacancies. The Office announced the winners on September 9.

The 22 judges represent a diverse group, with 11 men and 11 women, and 12 minorities. Judge Evans said he expected that they will be fine additions to the county’s judiciary.

“Having diversity of race, ethnicity and gender is important to our judiciary, since it shows the citizens of Cook County who come before the court that they are well-represented,” Judge Evans said. “In selecting the candidates for this election, my colleagues on the nominating committee and I were guided in our deliberations by a comprehensive approach that sought excellent legal skills, a variety of legal experiences, and racial, ethnic, and gender diversity. We also examined the applicants’ bar ratings, career achievements, and whether they could be fair and impartial adjudicators.”

All the incoming judges received positive bar evaluations. “I am pleased that our circuit judges have made twenty-two excellent choices,” Judge Evans said.

The following is a list of the newly selected Cook County associate judges:

•  Maryam Ahmad
•  Lloyd James Brooks
•  Barbara Lynette Dawkins
•  James Thomas Derico, Jr.
•  Sabra Lynne Ebersole
•  Carl Lauras Evans, Jr.
•  William Nicholas Fahy
•  Barbara Nubia Flores
•  Mitchell Benjamin Goldberg
•  Jasmine Villaflor Hernandez
•  Matthew William Jannusch
•  Martha-Victoria Jimenez
•  Diana Elena Lopez
•  Kerrie Elizabeth Maloney Laytin
•  Thomas A. Morrissey
•  James Bryan Novy
•  Eric Michael Sauceda
•  Theresa Marie Smith Conyers
•  Ankur Srivastava
•  Pamela J. Stratigakis
•  Anthony Charles Swanagan
•  Andreana Ann Turano

Brief biographies of the new associate judges are available in the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts’ September 9 press release.                                                                     

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