Vincent Michael Gaughan | |
---|---|
Born | 1942 |
Nationality | American |
Citizenship | American |
Education | DePaul University College of Law |
Alma mater | Bachelor of Engineering, University of Illinois |
Occupation | Judge |
Vincent Michael Gaughan is a Cook County Circuit Court Judge in Cook County, Illinois[1][2] who presided in the historic trial at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse held in Chicago, Illinois of Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago Police officer who killed Laquan McDonald.[3]
Early years[]
Gaughan's parents were Irish immigrants[4] who attended the St. Vincent de Paul Church, their local parish church. He was named "Vincent".[2] Their family home was in Lincoln Park.[4]
Education[]
In 1964, he earned his Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) at the University of Illinois.[4] He earned his law degree at DePaul University College of Law and was admitted to the Illinois bar in September 1972.[4]
Career[]
Gaughan joined the army after university and graduated from the Artillery Officer Candidate School in Fort Sill, Oklahoma where he was "commissioned as a second lieutenant.[4] He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor for his service in the Vietnam war (-1968).[4] He worked in the Cook County public defender's office from 1973 until 1991.[4] He started out as a courtroom lawyer.[4] Later he was a "felony trial lawyer supervisor". In 1991, he was appointed to the Cook County, Illinois bench. He was elected as judge in 1992.[2][4]
In May and June 2008, he presided over the jury trial of the American singer and record producer, R. Kelly,[5][6] in which Kelly was acquitted on all counts of child pornography charges.[4] The men found guilty in the Brown's Chicken massacre case in 2007 and 2009, were convicted in Gaughan's courtroom.[4]
Judge Gaughan presided in the historic trial of Jason Van Dyke, the police officer who killed the 17-year-old African American Laquan McDonald on October 20, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois.[3][7] On June 6, 2016 Judge Gaughan agreed to name a special prosecutor for this case.[8] On October 5, 2018, Van Dyke was found guilty of second degree murder.[9] Judge Gaughan set the sentencing hearing date for January 18, 2019 and "lifted a decorum order, which will allow the Chicago Police Board to move ahead with disciplinary action against Van Dyke."[10] The New York Times described it as the case that changed Chicago.[1][11] A revealing February 10, 2015 article in Slate entitled "Sixteen Shots" by an independent Chicago-based journalist, placed the Chicago Police Department under public scrutiny.[12][Notes 1] In 2015, a year after McDonald's death, Judge Gaughan forced the City of Chicago to release police dashboard-camera video showing the accused shooting the victim.[1] On December 13, 2017, Judge Gaughan, "quashed a subpoena seeking the reporter Jamie Kalven's testimony, ending a battle over Mr. Kalven’s sources" saying that "the subpoena by the defense lacked specifics and sought 'irrelevant and privileged material'".[1]
An article in the Chicago Tribune, described the case as "another high-profile trial" for Judge M. Gaughan, an "idiosyncratic judge who set the standard for how Cook County handles headline-making cases" in his "ornate courtroom" with a "distant view of Chicago's skyline.[2] According to The New York Times, Judge Gaughan "is viewed as a mercurial jurist."[11] Attorney Steven Greenberg said that "If you’re Jason Van Dyke, I don’t think you can ask for a better judge to hear this case. Judge Gaughan is unique and he’s certainly opinionated, but he will go out of his way to make sure everyone gets a fair hearing."[2]
Personal life[]
When Vincent Gaughan returned from Vietnam, he lived with his parents in Lincoln Park.[4] In April 1970, then 28-year-old Gaughan, a law student and war hero, who suffered from anxiety after the war, faced charges including aggravated assault.[4]
Gaughan has been active in the Illinois branch of the American Legion since the 1990s when he served as its commander.[4]
Notes[]
- ↑ According to Julie Bosman's New York Times article, the key evidence in the case was a controversial police dashboard-camera video showing the accused shooting the victim, that was not presented as evidence until an independent Chicago journalist, Jamie Kalven, revealed its existence. Kalven received a tip from a source in November 2014, a month after the murder took place, which led "Kalven to a civilian who had seen the entire episode". Two months later Kalven read the autopsy report saying that McDonald had been shot 16 times.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bosman, Julie (November 26, 2018). "Journalist Who Told Laquan McDonald’s Story Faces Fight Over Sources". https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/26/us/chicago-police-shooting-journalist-laquan-mcdonald.html.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 St. Clair, Stacy (August 24, 2018). "Vincent Gaughan: The Van Dyke judge known for his smarts, sharp tongue and secretive style". https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-judge-vincent-gaughan-20180824-story.html.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Siegel, Zachary (January 2, 2019). "I was arrested during the Laquan McDonald murder trial. Here’s what I learned". Columbia Journalism Review. https://www.cjr.org/first_person/zachary-siegel-laquan-mcdonald-murder-trial.php.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 Bogira, Steve (January 18, 2016). "What the Van Dyke murder trial judge has in common with Laquan McDonald". https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/judge-vincent-gaughan-laquan-mcdonald-shooting/Content?oid=20876808.
- ↑ Grossberg, Josh (June 13, 2008). "R. Kelly Found Not Guilty!". E! Online. http://uk.eonline.com/news/1956/r-kelly-found-not-guilty. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- ↑ Levin, Josh (June 13, 2008). "Long Live the Little Man Defense!". San Francisco: The Slate Group. http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2008/06/long_live_the_little_man_defense.html. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
- ↑ Davey, Monica; Smith, Mitch (November 24, 2015). "Chicago Braces After Video of Police Shooting Is Released". ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/25/us/chicago-officer-charged-in-death-of-black-teenager-official-says.html.
- ↑ "Judge to appoint special prosecutor in Jason Van Dyke trial". ABC7 Chicago. June 2, 2016. https://abc7chicago.com/1368036/.
- ↑ Sanchez, Ray (October 5, 2018). "Officer Jason Van Dyke found guilty of second-degree murder in Laquan McDonald killing". CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/05/us/jason-van-dyke-laquan-mcdonald-verdict/index.html.
- ↑ Rivera, Mark; Hope, Leah (December 14, 2018). "Judge sets date for sentencing hearing for Jason Van Dyke". ABC7 Chicago. https://abc7chicago.com/4896840/.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Smith, Mitch (September 17, 2018). "Why Chicago Is Closely Watching the Trial of the Officer Who Shot Laquan McDonald". https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/us/laquan-mcdonald-shooting-jason-van-dyke-trial.html.
- ↑ Kalven, Jamie (February 10, 2015). "Sixteen Shots". Slate. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2015/02/laquan-mcdonald-shooting-a-recently-obtained-autopsy-report-on-the-dead-teen-complicates-the-chicago-police-departments-story.html. "Laquan McDonald shooting: A recently obtained autopsy report on the dead teen complicates the Chicago Police Department’s story."
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