Petition reveals stunning bias by Cook County Judge Rosanna Fernandez
Judge Rosanna Fernandez is the latest judge accused of bias in this child custody case.
On December 6, 2024, I watched as Cook County, Illinois Judge Rosanna Fernandez conducted her court through Zoom.
I’m not just saying this to create the most boring headline possible.
That she conducted it through Zoom is one example of her bias, according to a new petition asking to remove her for cause.
I was there to witness the latest hearing in the child custody case between Kenton Girard and Jane Girard.
The hearing was perfunctory; Judge Fernandez stayed all further proceedings until another judge heard the petition.
When a party files a petition in Illinois to remove a judge, the proceedings are supposed to be paused until that matter is heard.
This didn’t stop Judge Fernandez from ruling on other matters in this same case earlier in the week.
As such, that she was merely following the law yesterday is a surprise.
Judge Fernandez should not be on this case already. On October 18, 2024, Marissa Girard- Kenton Girard’s current wife and the stepmom to two the teenager girls at issue in this custody case- was supposed to have her substitution of judge heard.
Even though Marissa, as the stepmom, should not be party to this child custody case, Kenton’s ex-wife, Jane Girard, through her scumbag attorneys at the Beerman Law Group, made her a party to the case.
That legally harassing maneuver should have backfired for this tactical moment.
In Illinois, every party to the case- which Marissa now was- can remove one judge for any reason.
That’s what Marissa wanted to do on October 18, 2024. Except Judge Fernandez demanded the hearing be in person. She claimed that a previous hearing- which I also covered- had been disrupted by observers, and as such, all future hearings would be in person.
Only due to a disability, Marissa asked to be allowed to do the hearing virtually. Judge Fernandez denied her request and then denied Marissa’s motion to remove her. Here is part of the petition to remove Judge Fernandez.
It was legally dubious for Judge Fernandez to deny Marissa’s request to attend remotely. It was even more dubious to deny the substitution of judge because Marissa didn’t attend in person, but it was absurd for Judge Fernandez to soon after start to hold hearings remotely again.
Earlier this week, hearings started up remotely again.
Judge Fernandez managed to make it through a second hearing on December 6 remotely so her reasoning for insisting on in person hearings is even more dubious.
Judge Fernandez, according to the petition to remove her, has no use for open courtrooms.
The Reporter’s Committee notes that the Illinois Constitution presumes all court proceedings are open to the public.
Illinois law recognizes the constitutional presumption of access: “Judicial proceedings in the United States are open to the public – in criminal cases by constitutional command, and in civil cases by force of tradition.” A.P. v. M.E.E., 354 Ill. App. 3d 989, 993, 821 N.E.2d 1238, 1245, 290 Ill. Dec. 664, 671 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 2004).
“In addition to the constitutional right of access, a parallel common-law right of access has developed.” People v. Pelo, 384 Ill. App. 3d 776, 780, 894 N.E.2d 415, 418-19, 323 Ill. Dec. 648, 651-52 (Ill. App. Ct. 4th Dist. 2008) (citation omitted). “The common law right of access to court records is essential to the proper functioning of a democracy; it ensures the public's ability to monitor the functioning of their courts and to form educated and knowledgeable opinions about their judicial system.” A.P. v. M.E.E., 354 Ill. App. 3d at 994, 821 N.E.2d at 1245, 290 Ill. Dec. at 671. See also In re Krynicki, 983 F.2d 74, 78 (7th Cir. 1992) (cited approvingly but for a different proposition by A.P. v. M.E.E., 354 Ill. App. 3d at 999, 821 N.E.2d at 1249, 290 Ill. Dec. at 675).
In Cook County, judges seem to have a problem following this mandate. Besides this case, there is another recently filed lawsuit which alleges another Cook County judge, Abbey Romanek, also refused to let an individual participate by Zoom.
Approximately three years ago, my colleague Megan Fox of PJ Media experienced something similar with Cook County Judge Kimberly Lewis kicked her out of a court hearing which was on Zoom.
Judge Fernandez is part of a larger problem in my home county.
The substitution of judge filed against Judge Fernandez comes as Kenton Girard has already filed an explosive federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit alleging that Beermann has been running a scheme to bribe judges, including ones in his case.
Already, Judge Fernandez is the fourth judge on this case in 2024. Judge William Boyd, who is alleged in the lawsuit to take bribes, was removed earlier this year.
Judge Boyd was replaced by Judge Dominique C. Ross, except Beermann used their substitution of judge to remove Judge Ross. Judge Ross was replaced by Judge Renee Goldfarb. Judge Goldfarb recused herself shortly after she was named in the RICO lawsuit in August 2024.
She was replaced with Judge Fernandez.
The two girls, Gwen and Grace who are paternal twins, have refused to see their mom for over two years. In another lawsuit, they alleged that their mother ran a house of horrors
A longstanding custody order has been ignored, since Jane has regular weekly custody time. Instead, Judge Fernandez plans on holding another custody trial in February. By then, the girls will be seventeen and the court will only have a year to torment them.
Judge Fernandez noted on December 6 that if she wasn’t removed the case would continue as scheduled.
The girls have insisted that they won’t see their mom, no matter what the court order says.
The court proceedings won’t fix that. All that’s left to accomplish is for court actors to make money. For instance, Jane was represented at this perfunctory hearing by both Karen Paige and Enrico Mirabelli.
The court order that Judge Fernandez is likely to impose will be one that Kenton probably won’t be able or willing to adhere to, which means she may impose financial sanctions on him. That money will also likely go into the pockets of Beermann lawyers, who Kenton accuses of running a bribery scheme.
That certainly looks like a racket.
Sacrificing the lives and happiness children for money. Thank you for your continued coverage of the daily atrocities in family courts throughout the US and beyond.