PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chief Judge Evans appoints Judge Sterba Acting Presiding Judge of Fifth Municipal District

Released On 04/22/2008

Circuit Court of Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans today announced he has appointed Circuit Judge David P. Sterba as Acting Presiding Judge of the court’s Fifth Municipal District located in southwest suburban Bridgeview, replacing Fifth Municipal District Presiding Judge Thomas F. Carmody, Jr. who died suddenly on Sunday. The appointment of Judge Sterba is effective immediately.

"With nearly 30 years of service in the court system of the Fifth Municipal District branch of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Judge David Sterba is an ideal individual to lead that district of the court as this time," Chief Judge Evans said. "I have the utmost confidence in his ability to perform the duties of an acting presiding judge."

Judge Sterba was elected a circuit judge in November 1996 and was immediately assigned to the Fifth Municipal District where he has remained for his entire judicial career. He initially presided over misdemeanor cases until his assignment to a felony courtroom in 1998. He served as Chair of the Fifth Municipal District’s Community Traffic Safety Initiatives Committee, a federally funded community education program, from 1998 to 2003. In his capacity as Chair, he spearheaded a number of programs, including a safety belt awareness program aimed at elementary school students and alcohol awareness programs for high school students. He also served as acting presiding judge for Judge Carmody on occasion.

Prior to joining the bench, Judge Sterba was a Deputy Sheriff in the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, assigned to the Fifth Municipal District, from 1979 to 1984. He was admitted to the bar in 1984, and joined the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office as an assistant state’s attorney from 1985 until 1990, serving as a criminal prosecutor assigned to the Fifth Municipal District where he rose to felony prosecutor. From 1990 to 1996, he was a sole practitioner with a primary emphasis on criminal defense and personal injury litigation. Also, from 1990 to 1991, he served as legal counsel to the Village of Alsip Fire and Police Commission.

From 1994 to 1996, Judge Sterba was an instructor of business law and later criminal law at Moraine Valley Community College. He currently lectures on various topics, including the criminal justice system, consumer fraud, and the social, financial and legal implications of driving under the influence of alcohol and or drugs. Since 2005, he has been a member of the adjunct faculty at Kaplan University, teaching criminal law.

A member of the Southwest Bar Association, he has served on its Board of Directors and as past director of its Pro Bono program.

Judge Sterba has a long history of civic involvement in his community. He served as an elected member of the Board of Education of Consolidated High School District 230 from 1993 to 1996, chairing its Finance Committee at one point. Since 1998, he has been a kitchen volunteer for Public Action to Deliver Shelter (P.A.D.S.), also serving on its Board of Directors from 2001 to 2003. He also was a member of the Criminal Justice Program Advisory Committee for Moraine Valley College from 2002 to 2006.

Judge Sterba received his J.D. from The John Marshall Law School in 1984 and a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Saint Xavier University, Chicago, Illinois, in 1979.