CHICAGO — The Cook County judge who refused to detain a man accused of a violent domestic assault in October, about a month before the man went on to kill his wife, has been permanently removed from domestic violence cases. That’s among the announcements made Thursday evening by Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans.
Evans’ press release came just hours after Chicago police investigators released video and other evidence related to the Nov. 19 stabbing in Portage Park, which was witnessed by an off-duty Chicago police officer. However, Evans’ signed order reinstating the judge is dated Monday, January 13.
The officer opened fire on the alleged killer, Constantin Beldie, 57, who drove away from the scene and was later found dead from deliberately inhaling his vehicle’s exhaust, officials said.
After news broke that Beldie killed his wife in the 5800 block of West Leland while wearing an ankle monitor on the orders of Judge Thomas Nowinski, advocates for domestic violence victims called for the judge’s reinstatement.
Evans responded in November by ordering an internal review of the court’s handling of the October hearing and management of its electronic GPS monitoring program.
On Thursday, Evans said the investigation concluded that Nowinski’s decision to release Beldie on Oct. 9 “followed an incomplete presentation by the prosecutor and a presentation by defense counsel to which the state had not objected, that Beldie had no history of domestic violence . nor of violating the terms of a civil restraining order.”
“In this case, the Court found that the State failed to meet its statutory burden by providing clear and convincing evidence that a threat to the safety of a person existed that could not be mitigated, and ordered Beldie to install a GPS monitoring device , Evans said.
The investigation also revealed problems in the court’s electronic GPS monitoring program, “an apparent inability” by a GPS technician to notify the court that Beldi had entered an area to avoid, only one day after he appeared before Nowinski.
“The technician was temporarily suspended without pay pending completion of the review and resigned during the disciplinary process,” Evans said.
The examining magistrate also outlined the changes he will implement in response to the investigation’s findings. Among the highlights from his statement:
- “First, the Court will work with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to ensure that judges receive full information about a defendant’s criminal history and civil actions…Following the recommendations of a domestic violence task force in preliminary investigation on a statewide basis, the Court will examine the implementation of a risk assessment tool that includes an interview with the survivor, which will require further cooperation with the Public Prosecution Service.”
- “The Court will work with the Sheriff’s Office to ensure efficient and prompt service of protective orders on the defendants. The Court will update the policy to require that defendants who may violate the GPS monitoring terms appear in court the next day.”
- “The Adult Probation Department’s Home Confinement Unit, which administers GPS monitoring, is significantly understaffed… As previously stated before the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the Court has calculated that this consolidated system of best practices will require the hiring of 153 additional employees and a $23.9 million budget increase.”
- “Effective Tuesday, January 21, Judge Thomas E. Nowinski will be transferred from the Domestic Violence Division, County Department, to the Third Municipal District, Municipal Department. There he will handle crimes and traffic-related cases. The transfer is taking place at the request of Judge Nowinski and his chair, Judith Rice, who oversees the Domestic Violence Division.”
One of Nowinski’s new colleagues in the Third District Traffic Court will be Judge Caroline Glennon-Goodman. Evans reassigned her earlier this month after discovering she had distributed an image of a fake toy called “My First Ankle Monitor,” which featured an image of a black toddler wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet.
Goodman, who previously handled detention hearings and initial appearances for newly indicted defendants at 26th and California, has said she intended to send the image to a friend but accidentally sent it to a judge with the same first name.
Previous reporting
Nowinski was temporarily removed from domestic affairs when Evans first handled the Beldie case in November. Days before Evans announced the changes to Nowinski’s duties, CWBChicago reported that Nowinski denied detention requests 60% of the time between mid-October and mid-November.
During that period, we found 85 cases in which prosecutors asked Nowinski to detain a suspect. He approved only 34 of those petitions, or 40%. By comparison, a group of judges handling similar domestic cases during weekend court hearings granted petitions 57% of the time during the same period.
In the month after Nowinski’s reinstatement, judges who began carrying out his former duties granted 56% of all detention requests, CWBChicago reported. That’s much higher than Nowinski’s 40% and almost identical to the 57% awarded by weekend judges in our previous analysis.
Three of the four justices granted more than 60% of the detention requests presented to them: Torrie Corbin, Sabra Ebersole and Elizabeth Ryan. Judge Michael Hogan, who heard 43 of the 87 cases, awarded only 51%.
