The Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board charges the Honorable Mohammed M. Ghouse, Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, with conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice and that brings the judicial office into disrepute.

The filing in Illinois Courts Commission is entitled ‘Complaint,’ filed on Friday, June 17, 2022, in a case styled as “In the Matter of Judge Mohammed M. Ghouse.” The case number is #22-CC-3.

The allegations include violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct, Illinois Supreme Court Rule 61, and Rule 62(A).

These ethics rules generally require:

A judge should participate in establishing, maintaining, and enforcing, and should personally observe, high standards of conduct so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary may be preserved. The provisions of this Code should be construed and applied to further that objective.

A judge should respect and comply with the law and should conduct himself or herself at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.

The judicial canons can be found here.

The complaint alleges that:

“On November 23, 2021, Respondent struck the rear end of a parked vehicle which resulted in damage to both vehicles. A police officer, who responded to the scene of the accident, smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from the Respondent’s mouth when he questioned him. He also observed Respondent’s eyes were glassy and bloodshot, and he was swaying back and forth… Respondent was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and issued citations for driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.”

The complaint further alleges that:

“While at the police station, Respondent declined to take a Breathalyzer test. On February 18, 2022, Respondent pled guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and was sentenced to court supervision for a period of twelve months, fined $1500.00, and ordered to complete the Court Sentence “DUI” Monitoring Program for remedial education and DASA Level II-M DUI counseling, including attendance at a Victim Impact Panel.”

The Judge is in Courtroom 1303, 50 W. Washington St in Chicago, and can be reached at (312) 603 6130 https://www.cookcountycourt.org/Judges-Pages/Ghouse-Mohammed-M

A copy of the original filing can be found here.