Circuit shorts

Chief Judge Robert L. Carter of the 13th Circuit was assigned to the Illinois Appellate Court, 3rd District, on Sept. 1.

He succeeds Tobias G. Barry, who retired Aug. 31 after two stints, totaling 24 years, on the appeals bench. Barry sat from 1973 to 1994, including service as presiding judge of the Industrial Commission Division.

Appointed to the vacancy of Thomas J. Homer in December 2002, he stepped down a year later but was immediately recalled. A state representative from 1960 to 1974, he serves on the ISBA Committee on Legislation.

Carter, who was president of the Illinois Judges Association in 1995, became a 13th Circuit associate judge in 1979 and was elected to the circuit court in 1988. He became chief judge in 1993.

Chair of the Conference of Chief Judges, Carter has served recently on Supreme Court Committees on Capital Cases, Child Custody Issues, and Legislation. He chairs the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee on Family Violence Issues and is a mentor for the Illinois Judicial Academy.

Judge Frank H. Easterbrook of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit is scheduled to become chief judge in November, when Joel M. Flaum reaches age 70.

A member of the court since 1985, Easterbrook has been a professor at the University of Chicago Law School and an attorney for the office of solicitor general and an economic consulting firm. He is co-author of “The Economic Structure of Corporate Law.”

Paris attorney Steven L. Garst of Fruin, Garst & Kash was appointed Sept. 8 to the 5th Circuit as resident circuit judge in Edgar County. He replaces H. Dean Andrews, who retired Aug. 1, and will serve until Dec. 1, 2008.

Former public defender on Edgar and Clark Counties, Garst served four terms as Edgar County public guardian and public administrator. Also Paris city attorney, he is a past president of the Edgar County Bar Association.

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Associate Judge William G. McMenamin of the 12th Circuit has been appointed to the circuit court vacancy of retired chief judge Herman Haase. McMenamin became the first judge in Will County's new 2nd Subcircuit on Sept. 1.

Joliet attorney Joseph Polito has been elected a 12th Circuit associate judge. He will succeed Edwin B. Grabiec, who is retiring.

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When Associate Judge Angus More retired recently from the 17th Circuit, his position became the circuit's first full subcircuit seat, subject to election in November 2008.

Subsequently, J. Todd Kennedy resigned as an associate judge and has been appointed to the new circuit seat, but does not plan to run for election in 2008.

Judge Timothy J. Slavin of the 14th Circuit in Morrison will retire Monday, Nov. 13. He is a past president of the Illinois Judges Association.

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Judge J. Gregory Householter of the 21st Circuit in Kankakee will retire Sept. 22. A judge since 1992, his retirement will be effective Sept. 30.

Albert E. Radcliffe, jury commissioner for the 18th Circuit, has resigned, effective Oct. 6. Applications for the position were due in the office of Chief Judge Ann B. Jorgensen by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15.

Associate Judge Robert L. Freitag of the 11th Circuit is back in chambers at the McLean County Law and Justice Center after 10 months of active duty as an Army Reserve major in Iraq.

Freitag's encounter with deposed dictator Saddam Hussein last spring will remain a vivid memory. He recalls the prisoner being quiet except in the courtroom, where he would become animated.

A judge advocate, Freitag was asked to review protocol when Hussein began a hunger strike. That protocol required Hussein to submit to both medical and mental health inquiries.

When Hussein refused to answer the mental health inquiry, Freitag worked out a successful strategy for having a medical doctor ask the psychological questions. The hunger strike ended in about 10 days.

Iraq's oppressive heat is another enduring memory. Temperatures reached 138 degrees and seldom were less than 100, Freitag recalls.

Appellate Justice Alan J. Greiman has been re-elected chair of the 1st District Executive Committee for his 10th consecutive term, which began Sept. 1. Justice Thomas E. Hoffman is vice chair.

Other committee members are Justices Robert Cahill, Margaret J. O'Mara Fros-sard, Patrick J. Quinn and James Fitzgerald Smith.

Nominations are being accepted for proposed recipients of the inaugural Courageous Jurist Awards, a new program initiated by the American College of Trial Lawyers.

The award committee plans to honor judges through the United States who have performed their duties despite being involved in difficult or dangerous circumstances.

Chicago attorney Michael A. Pope of McDermott, Will & Emery chairs the college's Courageous Jurist Award Committee and also serves on its Special Committee on Administration of Justice.

Pope is a past president of the Seventh Circuit Bar Association, the International Association of Defense Counsel, and Lawyers for Civil Justice.

For more information about nominating a courageous judge, contact Pope at mpope@mwe.com or (312) 984-7780.