Carol M. Howard
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2030
Carol M. Howard is a judge for the 7th Subcircuit of the Cook County Judicial Circuit Court in Illinois. Her current term ends on December 2, 2030.
Howard ran for re-election for the 7th Subcircuit judge of the Cook County Judicial Circuit Court in Illinois. She won in the retention election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Carol Howard earned a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Prior to joining the bench, she worked as an assistant public defender for Cook County.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2024)
Cook County Circuit Court 7th Subcircuit, Carol M. Howard's seat
Carol M. Howard was retained to the 7th Subcircuit of the Cook County Judicial Circuit Court on November 5, 2024 with 76.6% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
76.6
|
1,025,754 | ||
No |
23.4
|
313,982 | |||
Total Votes |
1,339,736 | ||||
|
|
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Howard in this election.
2018
Cook County Circuit Court 7th Subcircuit
Carol M. Howard was retained to the 7th Subcircuit of the Cook County Judicial Circuit Court on November 6, 2018 with 80.7% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
80.7
|
1,012,750 | ||
No |
19.3
|
242,929 | |||
Total Votes |
1,255,679 | ||||
|
|
2012
Howard was retained on Nov. 6, 2012 with 78.9 percent of the vote.[2][3]
- See also: Illinois judicial elections, 2012
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Carol M. Howard did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Noteworthy cases
Mubashra Uddin trial
On July 6, 2017, Howard sentenced Mubashra Uddin to four years' probation and a $579 fine for involuntary manslaughter and credited her for 603 days of jail time served. Uddin was charged with first-degree murder in 2015 for dropping her infant daughter out of an eighth-floor window. She pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the girl's death.[4]
Assistant State's Attorney Patrick Turnock said the then-19-year-old Uddin was attempting to hide the pregancy from her religiously conservative family, who she thought would not approve. Uddin dropped the baby out of the window shortly after giving birth in her bedroom, when she heard her mother approaching the room.[4]
At a bond hearing before the trial, Judge James Brown said, "Dropping a baby out of an eighth-story window to its eventual death is exceedingly evil and exceedingly cruel."[4] Uddin attorney Adam Sheppard said in an email after sentencing that, "This has been a tragic event in the life of a naive 19 year-old girl. Although she will be forever haunted by what occurred, the end of this case will enable her to salvage the remainder of a productive life."[4]
Noteworthy events
Fox News investigation
A Fox News investigation released on December 14, 2018, portrayed Howard as being easy on crime and cited Howard’s rulings in three cases. The report stated, "Multiple legal and law-enforcement sources told Fox News that Howard has been known for being soft on criminals and has become pressured by the so-called political machine of Chicago."[5]
The first case cited occurred in 2011 on Chicago’s south side. Four suspects walked into a convenience store and fired their weapons. Four people, including one of the suspects, were killed. Howard found all three suspects not guilty. "In her ruling, Howard wrote that the tape did not definitely identify any of the suspects, and no DNA evidence linked the defendants to the crime scene. Law enforcement and legal sources have disputed her ruling," according to Fox News.[5]
The second case cited occurred in 2014, and it involved the shooting of Chicago police officer Thomas Derouin. "According to police, James Garland confessed to firing a shot when Derouin reportedly knocked and then forcibly entered a house Garland was in to execute a search warrant. Later, Garland admitted that the officer being shot was 'his fault.' And, gunshot residue was found on Garland. However, Howard found Garland not guilty. In part, Howard explained that the state’s experts indicated four people inside the house tested positive for gunshot residue and could not agree with certainty who fired the gun," the report stated.[5]
The third case cited occurred in 2017. Howard "acquitted a man she earlier found guilty of murder and arson charges, after the suspect's attorney filed a motion for reconsideration after a bench trial arguing the state's case was based on circumstantial evidence." The Cook County State’s Attorney's Office commented on Howard’s decision, saying, "We are disturbed by the court’s decision."[5]
Howard did not respond to Fox News’ requests for an interview. The report noted that judges do not usually speak to the media about their rulings.[5]
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedeval - ↑ Illinois Board of Elections: November 6, 2012 Official Vote Scroll to p.193
- ↑ Illinois Judges.net, "2012 Illinois Judges for Retention"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Chicago Sun-Times, "Probation for Mom Who Dropped Infant to Death from 8th-Floor Window," July 11, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Fox News, "Chicago judge under fire over controversial acquittals in high-profile murder cases," December 14, 2018
Federal courts:
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois
State courts:
Illinois Supreme Court • Illinois Appellate Court • Illinois Circuit Court
State resources:
Courts in Illinois • Illinois judicial elections • Judicial selection in Illinois
