Cook County Judge Arrested In Hinsdale

HINSDALE, IL — A Hinsdale man accused of DUI is an associate judge for the Cook County Circuit Court.

Mohammed M. Ghouse, 47, works in the municipal division at the Bridgeview courthouse. That division handles a range of misdemeanors, including DUIs.

According to Hinsdale police, Ghouse was arrested about 8:30 p.m. Nov. 23 in the 700 block of South Garfield Avenue on charges of DUI and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash. He was released on bond.

Ghouse refused to submit to a blood-alcohol test, police said.

On Tuesday, Patch contacted Mary Wisniewski, spokeswoman for the Cook County Circuit Court, about Ghouse's arrest. She said she was unaware of it and that she would find what information she could. As of Wednesday afternoon, she did not have information on Ghouse's status.

Early Wednesday evening, Chief Judge Timothy Evans announced in a news release that Ghouse had been placed on restricted administrative duties.

Ghouse could not be reached for comment.

News releases on the circuit court's website show that the court has dealt with similar situations consistently.

In 2018, Associate Judge Joseph Claps was reassigned to administrative duties after he was charged with carrying a concealed weapon into a prohibited area. He was later acquitted.

In 2008, Circuit Judge Sheila McGinnis was reassigned to administrative duties after being charged with DUI and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. Like Ghouse, she worked in the division that hears DUI cases. She was convicted, but won two more retention elections.

Ghouse was appointed as an associate judge in April 2016. He received his bachelor's degree from Loyola University in Chicago in 1998 and law degree from DePaul University in 2004.

He was in private practice before becoming a judge.