Vincent Gaughan

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Vincent Michael Gaughan
Cook County Circuit Court Judge
Assumed office
1992
Personal details
Bornc. 1941
CitizenshipAmerican
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Illinois
DePaul University College of Law
OccupationJudge
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service( –1968)
Rank Second lieutenant
Battles/warsVietnam War
Awards Bronze Star Medal with "V" device

Vincent Michael Gaughan is a Cook County Circuit Court Judge in Cook County, Illinois[1][2] who presided in the historic trial of Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago Police officer who murdered Laquan McDonald.[3]

Early years[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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 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 a judge in 1992.[4][2]

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 were 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 murdered the 17-year-old African American Laquan McDonald on October 20, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois.[7][3] 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.[11][1] 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 murder, a Cook County judged ordered the City of Chicago to release police dashboard-camera video showing Van Dyke 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[edit]

When Vincent Gaughan returned from Vietnam, he lived with his parents in Lincoln Park.[4] In April 1970, then 28-year-old Gaughan was charged with four counts of aggravated assault after allegedly firing four rounds from an M1 Garand at a neighbor's house.[4][13] Journalists Steve Bogira and Jim DeRogatis later investigated the allegations and were unable to determine the outcome of the case.[14]

Gaughan has been active in the Illinois branch of the American Legion since the 1990s when he served as its commander.[4]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ 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[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Bosman, Julie (November 26, 2018). "Journalist Who Told Laquan McDonald's Story Faces Fight Over Sources". The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e St. Clair, Stacy (August 24, 2018). "Vincent Gaughan: The Van Dyke judge known for his smarts, sharp tongue and secretive style". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Siegel, Zachary (January 2, 2019). "I was arrested during the Laquan McDonald murder trial. Here's what I learned". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Bogira, Steve (January 18, 2016). "What the Van Dyke murder trial judge has in common with Laquan McDonald". Chicago Reader. Feature. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  5. ^ Grossberg, Josh (June 13, 2008). "R. Kelly Found Not Guilty!". E! Online. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
  6. ^ Levin, Josh (June 13, 2008). "Long Live the Little Man Defense!". Slate. San Francisco: The Slate Group. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  7. ^ Davey, Monica; Smith, Mitch (November 24, 2015). "Chicago Braces After Video of Police Shooting Is Released". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  8. ^ "Judge to appoint special prosecutor in Jason Van Dyke trial". ABC7 Chicago. June 2, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  9. ^ Sanchez, Ray (October 5, 2018). "Officer Jason Van Dyke found guilty of second-degree murder in Laquan McDonald killing". CNN. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  10. ^ Rivera, Mark; Hope, Leah (December 14, 2018). "Judge sets date for sentencing hearing for Jason Van Dyke". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Mitch (September 17, 2018). "Why Chicago Is Closely Watching the Trial of the Officer Who Shot Laquan McDonald". The New York Times. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  12. ^ Kalven, Jamie (February 10, 2015). "Sixteen Shots". Slate. Retrieved January 9, 2019. Laquan McDonald shooting: A recently obtained autopsy report on the dead teen complicates the Chicago Police Department's story.
  13. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (2019). Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly. New York City: Abrams Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-4197-4007-7.
  14. ^ DeRogatis, Jim (2019). Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly. New York City: Abrams Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-4197-4007-7.
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