Judge will not be disciplined for threatening a trainee lawyer with prison for bringing his mobile phone to court

A panel of Cook County judges has decided not to take disciplinary action against an associate judge who repeatedly threatened a law clerk with jail time after accusing him of illegally bringing a cell phone into her courtroom last fall.

The District Court's Executive Committee met twice this month to determine whether Judge Peggy Chiampas violated ethics rules when she threatened Robert Almodovar with prison time and barred him from entering Leighton Criminal Court in an order that was never entered into court records.

The committee, made up of presiding judges, decided not to impose disciplinary action. The judges also decided Monday not to refer the matter to the state's Judicial Investigation Board, which investigates allegations of misconduct by judges, several people with knowledge of the decision said.

Chiampas will retain her current courtroom assignment but must receive additional training and guidance “regarding the enforcement of administrative orders,” Presiding Judge Timothy Evans said in a statement.

Earlier this summer, the committee referred allegations to the Investigative Committee that Kathy Flanagan, acting Chief Judge of the Judiciary, a lawyer was removed from her courtroom and arrested after arguing with her during a hearing.

Flanagan was also not relieved of her judicial post, but other judges whose cases were referred to the commission of inquiry were reassigned until the investigation was completed.

Judge William Hooks was transferred after he was accused of making racist remarks during an office meeting. He retired this year. Judge Raul Vega was also transferred because of comments he made to a colleague. after a transfer.

Anyone can file a complaint with the Commission of Inquiry. A referral is not required for the Commission to initiate an investigation itself.

The commission does not confirm whether it has received a complaint, an agency spokesman said. Complaints become public when a decision is made to file charges with the Illinois Courts Commission. Judges can also resign to end an investigation and avoid punishment by the commission if they expect a negative outcome..

Almodovar observed a public hearing on October 4 in Chiampas' courtroom on the third floor of the courthouse in Little Village when he was approached by a deputy sheriff and asked if he had a cell phone with him.

Almodovar confirmed this.

He was working as a law clerk at the courthouse and told the deputy that he thought he was allowed to have a phone, but offered to keep the phone in the public lockers downstairs.

Before he could, Chiampas started yelling from the bench for her to bring him in front of her.

By order of the court, members of the public are generally not permitted to possess a mobile phone in the criminal court building. One of the reasons given is the possible fear of intimidation of witnesses and jurors.

However, extensive exceptions apply to police officers, court employees, media representatives, lawyers and their employees.

The judge repeatedly threatened Almodovar with six months in prison if he did not allow a deputy sheriff to search his phone.

The experience was traumatic, Almodovar told the Sun-Times.

Before becoming a law clerk, he spent more than two decades in prison for a double murder he did not commit. He was eventually exonerated and received a certificate of innocence in 2018.

Chiampas appeared to be at least somewhat familiar with his case, at one point hinting that she had recused herself from his case after the conviction.

Chiampas is also being sued in federal court by Almodovar's employer, attorney Jennifer Bonjean, alleging misconduct by the judge, police officers and prosecutors in a case involving two men previously accused of killing an off-duty Chicago police officer.

Although an officer found nothing illegal on Almodovar's phone, Chiampas ordered the phone's contents recorded and said she would bar him from entering the public building unless he was summoned or otherwise authorized to appear.

However, Almodovar never received a copy, nor was the file registered by the registry. When he asked for a copy, he was denied one, he said.

Chiampas lifted the ban without mentioning it during a brief hearing on August 8. Sources said Almodovar's lawyer had made multiple attempts over months to get Chiampas – and other judges in the building – to lift the ban.

Evans said in an interview with the Sun-Times that he learned of the incident in the summer and has since taken steps to clarify who was allowed to allow legal staff to carry cell phones in the building.

In 2022, the Illinois Supreme Court required district courts to clarify their cell phone policies in writing while encouraging courts to allow people to keep their phones in courthouses.