Lorraine Murphy
Name: Lorraine Murphy
Age: 42
Current residence: Chicago
Current position: Cook County assistant state’s attorney
Past legal experience: Cook County assistant state’s attorney, 2003-present; Law Offices of Chicago-Kent, 2002; Goldberg Weisman & Cairo Ltd., 2001-02; Bennett J. Baker & Associates Ltd., 2001; Riordan, Dashiell & Donnelly Ltd., 1999-2000
Law school: IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2003
Campaign website: electlorrainemurphy.org
Campaign funds available, Dec. 5 to Dec. 31: $1,000
Campaign funds spent, Dec. 5 to Dec. 31: $25.00
Family: My husband is James V. Murphy III; my 2-year-old daughter Caitlin Murphy, and my 5-month-old son, James V. Murphy IV.
Hobbies/interests: Outside of work and spending time with my family, I sit on the board, volunteer and help fundraise for a community center near 22nd and Troy in Chicago called Reach Out Community Center. The center was created to help provide under privileged children in the area with after school programs and additional learning opportunities. I am also active in my neighborhood in the Sauganash Community Association and volunteer for different events. Specifically, at the 4th of July picnic, I run the children’s games. My husband and I are also members of the Queen of All Saints Parish.
Have you ever run for office before?
No.
Why should voters support your candidacy?
I am the most experienced candidate in my race. Our court system needs experienced judges on the bench to ensure fairness, integrity and efficiency in the courtrooms. Over the course of my career, I have tried 86 jury trials, 69 of those were felonies and of those, 19 were murder juries. As an assistant state’s attorney I work as a first chair in a felony courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, and every case on the call is my responsibility. I have continuously fought for victims of crimes in our communities and have represented them through the criminal justice system. I have been a fighter, a listener, a friend, and even a shoulder to cry on when needed. That experience has, without question, placed me in the best position to be a fair and effective judge worthy of the public’s vote.
Why do you want to be a judge?
My family has always placed a great deal of importance on public service and that’s how my siblings and I were raised. Being a judge, in my opinion, is the pinnacle of our profession and it’s a great way to serve both the public and the legal profession itself. I believe that becoming a judge is the next natural progression in my legal career. As an assistant state’s attorney, I’ve been assigned high profile cases and I’ve been assigned to high volume courtrooms and I’ve excelled in all of them. Over the years, I’ve achieved a tremendous amount of litigation experience and I believe that it is the right time to take the next step in my career and still be able to give back to the public.
What was the most interesting case you handled as a lawyer?
I tried one media case where three offenders played a game called “point ‘em out knock ‘em out.” One offender used a cell phone to videotape the other two offenders going up to a 62 year old man collecting cans in an alley. One offender sucker punched the victim, punched him so hard in the face that he fell to the pavement and cracked his head open and died. The three offenders fled, but returned to take the victim’s wallet and money. They then posted the video on Facebook. The offender who videotaped the incident was convicted after a bench trial. The second offender pled guilty to murder. The third offender, the one who punched the victim and took his wallet, ultimately pled guilty to Felony Murder the day he was set to pick a jury trial. This case presented difficult legal arguments for each offender and their culpability in the offense.
What would you consider your greatest career accomplishment?
Winning a rape jury trial where the victim was in special education at her high school and her dream was to stop riding the short bus and ride the regular bus with the other high school students. That was the most important thing for her. She proved to her school and her parents that she was capable of doing that. About the third day of riding the regular school bus home, the offender followed her off the bus to her house, pushed her into her house and forcibly raped her. The offender ran away, but the victim was able to call her Mom who then contacted the police. A rape kit was collected and the offender was arrested. At the jury trial, the victim bravely took the witness stand and told all of those strangers what the offender did to her. The jury came back with a guilty verdict. I will never forget the look of relief and vindication on that victim’s face when I told her and her mother that it was a guilty verdict.
What qualities do you plan to bring to the bench?
A good judge should exhibit patience, fairness, consistency and efficiency. I possess all of those attributes. As an assistant state’s attorney, my main goal is to seek justice, not secure convictions. Sometimes that may mean dismissing a case that I cannot meet my burden of proof. I have no doubt that I can listen to all sides of a case, apply the relevant law to the facts of that case, and make a fair decision.