Flashback: Injustice for all in Chicago DUI cases

I was surprised to hear the news of the judges in Pennsylvania sentencing adolescent offenders, and sometimes holding their parents in contempt of court for not paying fines.  The surprise was rooted in the discovery that the judges were getting kickbacks for sentencing the children.

March 27, Wilkes-Barre, PA

Things were different in the Luzerne County juvenile courtroom, and everyone knew it. Proceedings on average took less than two minutes. Detention center workers were told in advance how many juveniles to expect at the end of each day — even before hearings to determine their innocence or guilt. Lawyers told families not to bother hiring them. They would not be allowed to speak anyway.

In what authorities are calling the biggest legal scandal in state history, the two judges pleaded guilty to tax evasion and wire fraud in a scheme that involved sending thousands of juveniles to two private detention centers in exchange for $2.6 million in kickbacks.

Asked last year why he did not make a habit of telling juveniles of their right to a lawyer before hearings, Judge Ciavarella said, “I just don’t believe I have to spoon-feed people to do things in their life.”

This story reminded me of the scandal that rocked Chicago's own traffic court system, Operation Greylord.  25 years ago in Chicago ( I was a kid), it was understood that one could get out of almost any traffic crime, including a DUI, if the right judge was paid.

August 5, 1983, Chicago, Il

It was a Friday, and a group of lawyers--some prosecutors, some defense attorneys--had gathered in a Loop hotel on this day for a bachelor party. But the celebrating stopped when the television news broke this stunning story: For three years, the FBI had been running an undercover operation aimed at Cook County's court system. It featured at least one undercover operative and a listening device in a judge's chambers.

The allegations ranged from fixing drunken-driving cases to more serious felony charges. One lawyer was caught on tape bragging that "even a murder case can be fixed if the judge is given something to hang his hat on." By the end of the decade, nearly 100 people had been indicted, and all but a handful were convicted. Of the 17 judges indicted, 15 were convicted. The tally of convictions included 50 lawyers, as well as court clerks, police officers and sheriff's deputies.

It just goes to show that even those who are supposed to be the light of justice are human beings first, and just as apt to be tainted as any other.