{In the podcast, check out my interview with Tina Swithin from One Mom’s Battle; Tina observed the last hearing in this case}
Last month, Judge Renee Goldfarb headed for the exits of the child custody case between Kenton and Jane Girard, after Kenton filed a civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) lawsuit accusing her of taking bribes in the child custody case.
During a hearing last week in the same case, the child representative, Joel Levin, followed Judge Goldfarb out the door.
I reached out to Levin by email, but he did not respond.
The timing is noteworthy; Levin replaced Vanessa Hammer last year. Hammer was the guardian ad litem (GAL), but there seems to be a distinction without difference between a child representative and guardian ad litem in this case.
Hammer removed herself from the case on July 25, 2023.
That was four days after my initial article on this case.
Folks are responding to media pressure. With Judge Goldfarb gone, a new judge was appointed to preside over the case, including the hearing last week to remove Mr. Levin.
That judge is Judge Rosanna Fernandez. The hearing was perfunctory. Levin’s motion was unopposed, so there was little to do besides approving it.
The action began when Tina Swithin, from One Mom’s Battle, logged on. She told me she was about fifteen minutes late, but Judge Fernandez quickly took notice.
Tina told me that she routinely court watches, and her general protocol is to turn her microphone and video off, because having them can cause a distraction.
Judge Fernandez saw it differently. She quickly demanded her video on, and for Tina to identify herself.
Tina turned her video and wrote that she was an observer for the Girard case.
“As soon as she saw that, she was fuming,” Tina told me. “She basically accused us of harassing the court.”
Tina called Fernandez “unhinged.”
Tina said Judge Fernandez then said, “In the future, if you’re here to harass the court, I will order in person hearings only.”
Cook County has a history of burdensome restrictions on open courtrooms. In 2021, I attempted to watch a hearing virtually, and the Chief Judge’s Office sent me this email.
Good Morning Mr. Volpe,
Thank you for your request to observe in a courtroom. The first step is for you to send a copy of a government ID with your name, address, and birthday so we can verify identity and eligibility. We would also like a copy of your press ID.
After receiving this information, we can proceed to the next steps.
That request followed a rant by Cook County Judge Kimberly Lewis, to Megan Fox of PJ Media demanding that she put herself on video, like Judge Fernandez did. Judge Lewis then kicked Megan off the feed.
Transparency is not a strong suit in Cook County.
It’s not only Cook County where judges balk at open courtrooms. In Monmouth County, New Jersey, Judge Angela Dalton tried to brow beat me into telling her who sent me a link to her virtual AND OPEN courtroom, before logging me out.
In Orange County, California, the courts kick court observers off the virtual link. They only allow observers in person.
I reached out to Jane Girard by email, but she did not respond. I left a message with her attorney, Enrico Mirabelli, at his office, but he did not return the message.
I left an email with Chris Bonjean, the Chief Communications Officer of the Illinois courts, but he did not respond.
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