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CHICAGO, Ill. | 19 February, 2026)——Yesterday, the Liberty Justice Center filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Judge James R. Brown, a retired Cook County judge who was removed from his judicial recall appointment after Illinois Supreme Court justices retaliated against him for exercising his First Amendment rights as a private citizen. Judge Brown—who served honorably as a Cook County Circuit Court judge for 18 years—was urgently recalled to the bench by the Illinois Supreme Court in December 2025 to help fill judicial vacancies. Just six weeks later, he was abruptly removed from the bench without notice, without a hearing and without due process.
Judge Brown was removed after the Cook County Bar Association and the Chicago Council of Lawyers objected to an opinion column and podcast appearance he made months earlier while retired and as a private citizen. Despite acknowledging his decades-long record of impartial service, bar groups demanded his removal based solely on this protected speech. The Illinois Supreme Court subsequently vacated Judge Brown’s appointment and later issued an unsigned statement admitting that his speech was the motivation for his removal. The justices did so without following constitutionally required procedures.
The Illinois Constitution strictly limits how sitting judges may be removed—only through impeachment or after notice and a public hearing by the Illinois Courts Commission. Judge Brown received neither. Instead, the justices acted unilaterally, exceeding their constitutional authority in violation of Judge Brown’s First Amendment rights and his Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process. The Liberty Justice Center’s lawsuit challenges both the violation of Judge Brown’s individual rights and the unconstitutional application of the Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct to retired judges, whose speech as private citizens cannot lawfully be restricted.
“By removing Judge James Brown from the bench, the justices of the Illinois Supreme Court chose politics over the rule of law,” said Brendan Philbin, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. “In a frantic rush to obey the partisan directives of the Cook County Bar Association and Chicago Council of Lawyers, the justices ignored the Illinois Constitution and trampled on the First Amendment rights of Judge Brown. Considering Judge Brown’s long career of judicial service, he deserves better.”
“I’m grateful to the Liberty Justice Center for representing me in my pursuit of justice and defending my constitutional rights of free speech. I did not receive any due process and I look forward to having my position on the bench restored,” said Judge James R. Brown.
The Liberty Justice Center’s lawsuit seeks to restore Judge Brown to his recall position for the remainder of his term, to secure declaratory relief recognizing that the justices’ actions violated the U.S. Constitution and to obtain damages for the economic and reputational harm Judge Brown has suffered.
Brown v. Neville, et al. was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on February 18, 2026. The complaint in Brown v. Neville, et al. is available here.
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