Ex-Law Clerk Accused Of Posing As Judge Found Dead At Home

CALUMET CITY, IL — The former law clerk and lawyer who was accused of wrongly presiding over traffic cases in Markham courtroom in 2016 was found dead Thursday in her Calumet City home, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.

Crawford was to go on trial Monday after she had been indicted on charges of felony official misconduct and misdemeanor false impersonation. She pleaded not guilty in the case.

The charges stemmed from Crawford presiding over three minor traffic cases on Aug. 11, 2016, in Judge Valerie Turner's courtroom, while under the real judge's supervision. She had maintained that Turner encouraged her to sit on the bench at the time and that she followed the real judge's instructions the entire time.

While regretting that her ambition to be on the bench got the best of her, Crawford said during the press conference that she made no official decisions when she heard Turner's cases and followed the judge's instructions when she wore the robe.

More Patch Coverage:

• Ex-Law Clerk Who Posed As Judge: 'I Did Not Decide Any Cases'
  
• Crawford Pleads Not Guilty At Hearing
  
• State Supreme Court Suspends Crawford's Law License

Crawford was fired from her law clerk post for Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans once reports of the impersonation surfaced. Nearly three months after the incident, the Illinois Supreme Court suspended her law license.

The high court also ruled that Crawford, who was running for the open judge seat in the 1st Judicial Subcircuit — could not take the bench if she was elected in November, which she was.

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