State of Justice: February 2026 Ethics Updates
Illinois Supreme Court sued over the removal of state judge
In December 2025, the Illinois Supreme Court temporarily filled vacancies with retired judges on the Cook County Circuit Court through December 2026. One of whom was Judge James Brown, who retired in 2020 after serving 18 years on the bench. During his retirement, Brown penned a column for a conservative blog outlet. Brown disparaged the Obama and Biden administrations, attacked immigrants and trans people, as well as promoted conservative conspiracy theories and alluded to antisemitic tropes in his writing. Because of his writings and subsequent reinstatement to the bench, the Cook County Bar Association and Chicago Council of Lawyers quickly condemned Brown’s statements and raised concerns about Brown’s impartiality on the bench. Soon, there were demands for the supreme court to recall Brown. Chief Judge Timothy Evans, the circuit’s chief judge, made the request.
In late January, the Illinois Supreme Court removed Brown from the bench. Brown moved quickly to disparage his removal and claimed that “conservatives aren’t welcome” as judges in Cook County. On February 18, conservative litigation and advocacy group the Liberty Justice Center filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of Brown. The Liberty Justice Center most notably led the Janus case before the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned the payment of union dues by non-members, despite benefiting from the protections of a union contract.
Retired New Hampshire Supreme Court justice still under ethics scrutiny
The New Hampshire Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) is still pursuing its ethics investigation into retired Justice Barbara Hantz Marconi. Hantz Marconi stepped down in February after reaching the state’s mandatory retirement age. The JCC’s investigation centers on Hantz Marconi’s alleged interference in the investigation into her husband, Geno Marconi, who was the former ports director. Marconi illegally obtained information on another Pease Development Authority board member, for which he later pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor . Because of this investigation, Hantz Marconi met with Gov. Chris Sununu, allegedly to discuss how the investigation into her husband would impact her duty on the bench. Hantz Marconi also allegedly attempted to get the chairman of the Pease Development Authority to intervene on her husband’s behalf. Hantz Marconi pleaded no contest to a Class B misdemeanor in October of last year.
