Cook County Circuit Judge Carl Boyd has been suspended from hearing cases, a day after he was charged with domestic battery, the Cook County Chief Judge’s office has announced.
On Sept. 22, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans announced he had issued an order assigning Boyd to “restricted duties or duties other than judicial duties.” The order was indefinite, pending the results of further investigations and inquiries into an incident in which Boyd is accused of committing battery against a woman.
According to published reports, Boyd was accused by a 57-year-old woman of throwing a glass bottle at a glass window on a door. According to the reports, Chicago Police responding to the alleged incident witnessed a large cut on the woman’s face allegedly caused by the broken glass. Police reported they arrested Boyd on the scene. He is now charged with domestic battery causing bodily harm.
Boyd reportedly appeared in court on Wednesday morning, Sept. 21, and was released on bond.
Following Boyd’s arrest, Evans said he met with the Cook County Circuit Court’s Executive Committee, which agreed that Boyd should be suspended from his courtroom duties for the foreseeable future. The Executive Committee includes all of the presiding judges in the Cook County courts, overseeing the court’s various divisions and districts.
Boyd served as a judge in the Sixth Municipal District Court in suburban Markham, hearing criminal cases.
Boyd has served as a Cook County judge since 2012. At the time of his election to the court in 2012, Boyd had been rated as “not qualified” by various legal organizations and bar associations, including the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.
Boyd is a Democrat, like nearly all other Cook County judges.
He was retained by voters in 2018, and his current term is scheduled to end in 2024.
According to the statement from Chief Judge Evans, the Executive Committee referred the allegations against Boyd to the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board, the body responsible for investigating claims of professional and personal misconduct against Illinois judges. If the JIB determines the charges against Boyd hold merit, the JIB can refer the matter to the Illinois Courts Commission for further professional discipline.
Evans announced he also has asked the Illinois Supreme Court to assign Boyd’s criminal case to a judge from outside Cook County, to avoid any "appearance of impropriety" in the proceedings.