CHICAGO (AP) – A judge in northwestern Illinois accused of dozing off during a murder trial is among the judges a watchdog group wants voters to reject.
Out of scores of judges either up for retention or candidates vying for judgeships on Nov. 6, the Illinois Civil Justice League outright opposes four in recommendations being released Wednesday.
Defense attorneys said Whiteside County Judge Jeffrey O’Connor fell asleep during Nicholas Sheley’s 2014 trial. Jurors later convicted him of four killings.
A majority appellate-court ruling denied a request for a new trial, saying the evidence was overwhelming and that any sleeping didn’t influence the outcome. It noted one instance of alleged dozing happened when lights were dimmed for video evidence.
O’Connor denied sleeping. At the time, he called media reports he slept “feckless” and “inaccurate.”
