Robert Adrian
QUINCY — The Illinois Supreme Court has suspended the law license of Robert Adrian for two years and until further order of the court. The announcement was made Thursday by the Supreme Court, which suspended seven other people as part of a monthly listing of attorney disciplinary orders. Adrian, who was licensed to practice law…
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QUINCY — James Waller, an assistant appellate defender with the Office of the State Appellate Defender, Fourth District, said a case as important as the Tim Bliefnick murder case should be tried before a judge “whose career is not resting in the hands of the prosecutor trying the case.” Allison Paige Brooks, assistant appellate prosecutor…
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QUINCY — The third and final brief in the appeal case for convicted murderer Tim Bliefnick was filed Thursday, July 25 in the Office of State Appellate Defender, Fourth District. The 19-page brief was filed by Catherine Hart, deputy defender with the Office of the State Appellate Defender, Fourth District, and James H. Waller, assistant…
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QUINCY — Robert Adrian has until July 31 to respond to a complaint filed with the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) on June 25 that recommends the former Eighth Judicial Circuit judge be disciplined. Adrian said Friday that the ARDC shouldn’t hold its breath. “It’s a waste of everybody’s time,” he said Friday…
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QUINCY — Holly Henze is anxious to take over a felony criminal court docket again, but this time it will be from a different perspective. After working in the Adams County Public Defender’s office from 2003 to 2016, Henze has handled the family/divorce docket in Adams County since July 2016 when she became a judge…
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QUINCY — Christopher Pratt didn’t even get to use the new business cards he ordered. Pratt, an attorney in the Adams County Public Defender’s Office since 2016, halted his campaign to run for state’s attorney in Hancock County when he was promoted from deputy chief defender to chief public defender in February after Todd Nelson resigned.…
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QUINCY — Frank McCartney, chief judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, announced Monday the circuit judges’ selection of Josh Jones as the new associate judge in the Eighth Circuit. Jones will replace Judge Debra Wellborn, who is retiring on July 2. Jones’ investiture ceremony will be shortly after that. “I’m humbled and honored by the faith the…
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(This article appeared April 17 in the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. It is reprinted here with permission.) “The law that applies to this case is stated in these instructions, and it is your duty to follow all of them.” So states Illinois Pattern jury instruction 1.01(2), which the judge reads to the jurors in every…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The appellate defenders for convicted murderer Tim Bliefnick have filed a brief in the Office of State Appellate Defender, Fourth District, arguing many mistakes were made in Bliefnick’s May 2023 trial while asking for a new trial. The 50-page brief was prepared by Catherine Hart, deputy defender with the Office of the State…
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QUINCY — Justice Lisa Holder White of the Supreme Court of Illinois has announced the formation of a seven-member judicial screening committee for the Eighth Judicial Circuit. The screening committee, announced in a press release late Friday afternoon, was formed to assess the qualifications of eight people who have applied for appointment to the office…
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With Robert Adrian being removed from his position as a judge in Illinois’ Eighth Judicial Circuit late on a Friday afternoon, it’s taken a few days for the national media to get wind of the case. Muddy River News spoke with both Adrian and the woman involved in the Drew Clinton case, Cameron Vaughan, last…
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Calhoun County judge to assist with criminal court docket in Adams County following Adrian dismissal
QUINCY — Chief Judge Frank McCartney has a tentative resolution as to how Robert Adrian will be replaced in the Eighth Judicial Circuit. He hopes to have answers soon as to how Adrian’s position will be filled in the future. Judge Charles H.W. Burch of Hardin, who has been handling the docket in Calhoun County,…
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Capitol Fax, a weekday newsletter that has covered the ins-and-outs of Illinois State government for more than 30 years, posed the following question in its Monday online edition: Should AG Raoul try to yank this guy’s pension? This guy being Robert Adrian, who on Friday became just the fourth judge since 2005 to be removed from…
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Letter to the Editor: Adrian is human and changed his mind, rousing the rabble to pick up pitchforks
Muddy River News recently published an article detailing the events that led to Robert Adrian’s removal as Eighth Circuit Judge. This letter to the editor will examine the reasoning (or lack thereof) surrounding that removal. This is not an attempt to assign a value judgment to the sexual assault case People of the State of Illinois v. Drew…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Even after his removal as Eighth Circuit judge by the Illinois Courts Commission on Friday, Robert Adrian maintained his innocence in an interview late Friday afternoon with Muddy River News and called the ruling a “total political hit job.” Adrian found Drew Clinton, 18, guilty of felony criminal sexual assault following a three-day bench trial…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Illinois Courts Commission ruled Friday afternoon that the Judicial Inquiry Board proved “by clear and convincing evidence” that Eighth Circuit Judge Robert Adrian gave untruthful testimony before the Board constituting “willful misconduct” and has ordered him removed from office. The 33-page decision was posted on the Illinois Courts Commission’s website. Adrian found…
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QUINCY — An Adams County judge has ordered a mental fitness evaluation of a Clayton teen facing three counts of first-degree murder in connection to the shooting death of a Camp Point man. Wyond L. Bynum, Jr., 18, appeared with St. Louis-based attorney Victor Smith before Judge Robert Adrian in Adams County Circuit Court on…
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QUINCY — Robbery charges for a Quincy man and a Quincy woman in connection to the October shooting death of a teenage girl were dropped Friday afternoon as they accepted the terms of a negotiated plea that should allow both of them to be free by July. Fallon M. Gillum, 21, and Tristian L. Johnson,…
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I would like to address misconceptions Adams County Circuit Judge Robert Adrian allows our community to believe in order to save his own pelt. First, in the state of Illinois, any person younger than 17 years of age is under no circumstances ever allowed to consent to sexual activity. In some states, there is a…
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Quincy man facing sex offense charges switches from bench trial to accepting 14-year prison sentence
QUINCY — A Quincy man indicted in October 2022 on multiple sex offense charges changed his mind again on Friday and accepted a plea agreement that will send him to prison for 14 years. Aaron Washington, 47, appeared with Chief Public Defender Todd Nelson before Judge Robert Adrian in Adams County Circuit Court. He was…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Adams County State’s Attorney’s office has requested and been granted a change of judge as it pursues charges against a pre-med student from Quincy who allegedly sent text messages of a sexual nature to minors. Both the prosecution and the defense have the right to make one request per case for a…
Read Full Article Over the years, Carrie Ward’s organization, the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, has worked with law enforcement agencies and attorneys across the state on how to better understand the complexities of sexual violence cases. But one part of the criminal justice system has been largely absent from that training: judges.
Read Full Article QUINCY — A Quincy man indicted in October 2022 on multiple sex offense charges chose not to accept a plea agreement and tried to get a new lawyer before agreeing to have a bench trial in December. Aaron Washington, 47, appeared with Chief Public Defender Todd Nelson before Judge Robert Adrian on Wednesday afternoon in…
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QUINCY — A 93-year-old Quincy man charged with sexually abusing and sexually assaulting his 10-year-old great-granddaughter will get to “die peacefully in my home” after receiving a 48-month sentence of probation on Monday. Lionel Surratt appeared with attorney Drew Schnack in Adams County Circuit Court before Judge Robert Adrian. Surratt had been charged with predatory…
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QUINCY — A man and a woman facing robbery charges in connection to the October shooting death of a teenage girl were arraigned Wednesday morning and pled not guilty. Tristian L. Johnson, 23, of Quincy and Fallon M. Gillum, 20, of Quincy were in Adams County Circuit Court before Judge Robert Adrian. They appeared for…
Read Full Article May 28, 2025
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