Judge is not reappointed after making 'insensitive' racial comments
A criminal court judge in Cook County, Illinois, will be leaving the bench at the end of June in the wake of criticism over racially charged comments he made to defendants.
Associate Judge Richard Schwind fell under scrutiny for his remarks. Last year, he told a black defendant, who was charged with assaulting a white man who called him a racial slur, "You were never a slave, but you take offense to it,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Schwind followed up his comments with that he "understood" the defendant’s reaction, "but the bigger man walks away."
He is the only judge who failed to be reappointed in the county, WBEZ reported. The remaining 137 judges of the county, which includes the city of Chicago, won new four-year terms following a secret vote performed by the county's circuit judges.
WBEZ reported that Schwind made comments to a woman charged with prostitution in 2017, stating she was a health risk.
"You go to California, do it in California, do it in Tennessee, do it anywhere but Illinois," he said. "If you want to continue selling your body for money, that's up to you, that's your decision, but stay out of Illinois. You are a definite health risk to anyone you come in contact with."
The judge had also said the defendant had "an awesome set of fingernails" and asked her who paid for them.
Schwind has served as an associate judge for more than seven years. It has been at least 20 years since a Cook County associate judge failed to win a bid for reappointment, WBEZ reported. In order to be retained, judges need a favorable vote of at least 60 percent.
The Chicago Bar Association had asked the county's circuit judges not to reappoint Schwind, stating his "statements to minority litigants appearing before him are insensitive, improper and evidence bias,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Chicago Bar Association also asked for the circuit judges not to reappoint Judge Luciano Panici, stating that he was not qualified. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Panici "exhibits a casual attitude regarding whether the state has met the burden of proof" and would find a vast amount of defendants guilty. However, Panici won a four-year term.
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