Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE
(Video Credit: WGN News)
Chicago Cook County Circuit Court Judge William Raines was caught on a hot mic during a livestream on Tuesday insulting a high-profile civil rights attorney named Jennifer Bonjean, who previously defended Bill Cosby, calling her performance in court “nuts” and “insane.”
The disparaging remarks were made as the judge chatted with two prosecutors and a public defender but they got a much wider audience because, unknown to him, his mic was still on.
“Did you see her going nuts?! Glasses off, fingers through her hair, the phone’s going all over the place, it’s insane,” Raines stated concerning Bonjean’s appearance in court defending her client.
“That was so entertaining,” Assistant State Attorney Susie Bucaro commented.
“It was entertaining for me,” the judge quipped. Later he mocked, “Can you imagine waking up next to her every day? Oh my God.”
Both Bucaro and fellow Assistant State Attorney Anna Sedelmaier laughed. Bucaro then joked, “There would be a number of things wrong in my life if I was waking up next to her every day.”
Raines kidded back, “I couldn’t get a visual on that if you paid me.”
Raines and Bucaro then proceeded to mock one of Bonjean’s assistants. They called him a “13-year-old boy dressed up in a suit,” and called him Bonjean’s “man-child.”
A Cook County judge this week was caught on a livestream mocking an attorney.
“Can you imagine waking up next to her every day? Oh, my God,” Judge William Raines said of attorney Jennifer Bonjean. “… I couldn’t have a visual on that if you paid me.”
— ~𝓣𝓮𝓷𝓪𝓬𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓣𝓮𝓪𝓱~ (@TeahCartel) January 14, 2022
As Raines examined paperwork he realized that the court livestream was still rolling. “Oh, wait … Media streaming live on YouTube? What’s up with this?” he said, and then the stream was terminated.
The video has since been taken down but Criminal Division Acting Presiding Judge Erica Reddick ordered that it be officially preserved in order for it to be used in a complaint filed by Bonjean to the Judicial Inquiry Board.
Bonjean, who is primarily based out of New York, was incensed over the incident and ran to WGN with the transcript, slamming the judge for his unprofessionalism and inappropriate comments. She asserted he was not fit to do his job.
“He should not be presiding over things as important as criminal court proceedings where people’s lives hang in the balance,” she wailed.
Judges say things about lawyers. Lawyers say things about judges.
Fortunately, 99.9999% of time not on hot mic.— Beverly A. Pekala (@PekalaLaw) January 14, 2022
Bonjean was in court for her client, Roosevelt Myles, alleging that he was framed by police and wrongfully convicted of murder in 1996.
The offended attorney told BuzzFeed News she was unaware of the video recording until she received an anonymous tip several hours after the hearing. Raines has recused himself from the case and it has since been reassigned to another judge.
Leftist Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx released a statement saying she has spoken with both prosecutors that were caught on the hot mic and they have been reprimanded.
Their behavior “is unacceptable and runs counter to the values of this administration. Their actions reflect poorly on the work of our office and the entire criminal justice system,” the statement charged.
Both the assistant state attorneys and Foxx have apologized and Bonjean has accepted their politically correct groveling.
Bonjean is asserting that the system encourages both parties to kiss up to the judge for the sake of their clients and careers. She posited that the situation may have caused the prosecutors to say what they did.
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- Trump blasts Maggie Haberman for spreading fake narrative involving Melania: ‘Not angry at all’ - November 10, 2022
- Tiffany Trump ‘flipping out’, stuck inside evacuated Mar-a-Lago as hurricane changes wedding plans: report - November 10, 2022
- Transgender influencer livid after being thrown in Miami jail with male inmates: ‘Disturbing and dangerous’ - November 10, 2022
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.