Rhonda Crawford (Photo via Facebook)
We have some very unfortunate news to report out of Chicago, Illinois, where a controversial lawyer was found dead in her home just days before she was supposed to stand trial for impersonating a judge (“job shadowing,” as she called it).
You may remember Rhonda Crawford, 46, from her days as a Cook County law clerk. In 2016, during a time when she was running unopposed for a seat on a judicial subcircuit, Crawford reportedly presided over at least two cases for Judge Valarie Turner, who was later removed from her seat on the bench for being mentally unfit. Crawford won the election, despite the fact that she was fired from her job, indicted for allegedly impersonating a judge, suspended from practicing law, and barred from being sworn in.
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Crawford was supposed to be in court to today to defend herself against felony and misdemeanor charges, but she was found unresponsive in her home on Thursday afternoon. The Chicago Tribune has some additional details:
“The incident is being investigated as an apparent suicide,” police Chief Christopher Fletcher said in a statement.
In a followup email, Fletcher declined to provide further details “out of respect” to Crawford’s family and friends.
A spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office said it was awaiting the results of toxicology tests before determining the cause and manner of Crawford’s death.
Crawford, a former nurse who graduated from the Chicago Kent College of Law in 2003, was rememebered by her lawyer, Rob Robertson, as “a truly great person who led an incredibly good life.” Robertson, who thought his client would be acquitted, added that Crawford “wound up caught in a situation that was well beyond what it should have been.” Before her death, Crawford expressed remorse over having donned Judge Turner’s robes, saying, “I allowed my respect for the judge, and my enthusiasm to learn the procedures of being a judge, to become a distraction to others and to my own lifelong ambition of being on the bench. It is a lesson I will never forget.”
We here at Above the Law would like to extend our condolences to Rhonda Crawford’s family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time.
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Police suspect suicide in death of lawyer days from trial on charges of impersonating judge [Chicago Tribune]
Earlier: Judge Who Let Clerk Impersonate Her Charged With Being ‘Mentally Unable’ To Perform Her Duties
Judicial Candidate Indicted For Pretending To Be Judge Won’t Take Bench Until Ethics Case Is Resolved
Indicted Law Clerk Who Allegedly Pretended To Be Judge Elected As Real Judge
Judge Removed After Allegedly Allowing Law Clerk To Wear Robe, Hear Case
Staci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.