On Thursday, December 4, 2025, Shaw Local reported that a motion had been filed seeking the recusal of Will County Judge Jessica Colón-Sayre from the indirect criminal contempt case of Joel Brodsky, a former attorney for Drew Peterson. Brodsky stands accused of violating a gag order issued in 2022, which restricted him from discussing his legal representation of Peterson, now 71, to avoid jeopardizing Peterson’s renewed attempts to overturn his conviction for the 2004 murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, 40.
The contempt charge stems from a NewsNation interview Brodsky gave on or after March 1, 2024. Brodsky, who initially expressed a desire for a quick jury trial in April 2024, has since retained three different attorneys and filed numerous pretrial motions and an appeal related to a separate gag order.
Chuck Bretz, Brodsky’s current attorney, filed the motion for recusal, arguing that Judge Colón-Sayre is a witness to events that form the basis of a federal lawsuit Brodsky filed on August 29 against several prosecutors and Peterson’s public defenders. The lawsuit was filed after an appellate court rejected Brodsky’s request to appoint a different judge to the contempt case, finding no evidence to support a judicial bias claim.
During a hearing, Special Prosecutor William Elward suggested that the recusal motion was a delaying tactic by Brodsky. Elward stated that Brodsky is attempting to avoid the consequences of his actions, which could include a “lengthy incarceration” for his “blatant disregard” of attorney-client privilege. Bretz interrupted Elward, asserting that he, not Brodsky, filed the motion and that Elward should remain professional.
Bretz’s motion alleges that Colón-Sayre is a witness to a December 5, 2024, event in her courtroom that is described in Brodsky’s lawsuit. The lawsuit claims Elward made “Kafkaesque misrepresentations” by denying that retired Will County Judge Dave Carlson imposed a gag order on Brodsky after the contempt case was filed. It further alleges that Colón-Sayre supported Elward’s denial of Carlson’s gag order. An appellate court has since vacated Carlson’s order, deeming it an unconstitutionally broad restriction on Brodsky’s speech.
Brodsky’s lawsuit alleges “serious prosecutorial misconduct” and “judicial misbehavior and collusion” during Peterson’s trial, claiming the contempt case was filed to prevent him from disclosing information that could overturn Peterson’s conviction.
Elward’s attorneys from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s Office argue that Brodsky’s claims are already under litigation in Will County and that a federal judge’s decision would intrude on the independence of state courts. Lawsuits against prosecutors often fail due to their protection by absolute immunity for actions related to their job, a defense also raised by the public defenders’ attorneys.
Colón-Sayre has scheduled a hearing on the recusal motion for January 14.
Source: Shaw Local
