“You and the other officers will not make it to court.” - The Voice of the Unschackled in Judge Tharp's Court

Yesterday, a 71 year old gentleman was shot in the stomach by two thugs on bikes in the Marquette Park neighborhood.  Though a security camera caught the act taking place, I seriously doubt if the youths will be brought to book.

Yesterday, six of the magnificent seven dressed in suits and Bill Cosby sweaters had the opportunity to study the faces of "anonymous" jurors in Judge John "Jay" Tharp's courtroom in the Dirksen Federal Building in the Hobo Trial.  Last week, Judge Tharp deemed it too prejudicial to shackle the members of the Hobo super-star coalition of gangs, even though Federal Marshalls asked that they be so restrained in the interest of safety and justice.  Judge Tharp took the Atticus Finch approach - the high-minded, think-out-of box, Yankee spit in the face of common sense, ACLU approved self-focus.
Far left -Judge John "Jay" Tharp nominated to the bench by Mark Kirk (R, Durbin) - Never Right


Appeals Court Chief Judge Richard Posner could not have done better than Judge Tharp and Posner is always playing Brutus, Clarence Darrow, or Larry David,  in the court of public opinion (media), it seems to me.

Now, people who are doing their civic duty in the American Justice system are imperiled by Judge John " Jay" Tharp's play acting To Kill a Mockingbird.

Still, the potential jurors found themselves facing the six accused Hobo gang members in Tharp’s courtroom. The allegedly violent gang members* wore suits, dress shirts and chunky sweaters as they studied the men and women who could decide their fate. Federal prosecutors have accused the men of committing nine murders, as well as a series of brazen robberies, home invasions and other crimes.
The final group of jurors will sit through a trial that is expected to last months. . . . The judge took roughly five hours to question the first 16 potential jurors from Chicago and its suburbs — a group that included a handful of retirees, a bartender, a college student and a man who has spent nearly four decades as a puppeteer. (emphases my own)

The trial will take months - that is plural sets of four weeks.  Judge Tharp is deliberate.  Now, it seems to me that in a number of months the Unshackled Hobos and their families, friends and well-wishers will manage to lift the veil of anonymity from the imperiled nine good citizens and true.  Notice that they Hobos studied the men and women who could decide their fate, from the get-go.

The Unshackled Hobos and the Hobo coalition will be in the unprejudiced position to nod signals and gesticulate interests in particular jurors to friends and family.  It does not take a Nero Wolfe, or August Dupin to come up with an identity in this City - unless of course one might be in proximity to an old man watering his lawn when two thugs bike up and shoot him.

I would rather be Nero's Mom than a juror in the Unshackled Hobo trial in Judge John "Jay" Tharp's court.

Gee, what could possibly go wrong?

*  Federal prosecutors say the Hobos, a “renegade group” of Gangster Disciples, Black Disciples and other gangs, terrorized Chicago’s South and West sides between 2004 and 2013. Among the defendants headed to trial are alleged Hobo leader Gregory “Bowlegs” Chester and alleged assassin Paris Poe.
Poe is accused of participating in the slayings of federal informant Keith Daniels and Chicago police informant Wilbert Moore. The feds also say he once threatened a police officer scheduled to testify against him, standing within two feet of the officer in a Cook County courthouse and saying, “You and the other officers will not make it to court.”

Federal Judges and Sound Judgement Not Always a Fit: Foot Loose Hobos in Judge Tharp's Court!

              Mark Kirk's Judge John Jay Tharp (blue striped tie) Hobo Friendly

With seven Hobos scheduled to go to trial in September, prosecutors alleged for the first time this week that the gang was responsible for nine killings as well as countless shootings, robberies and home invasions. No gang has been charged in a federal indictment with that level of violence since the El Rukns two decades ago. Chicago Tribune June 16, 2016

In today's Chicago Sun Times, Jacob Wittich tells us that 'several' Hobos will be in Judge Tharp's courtroom and Judge Tharp does not want them unduly prejudiced by being shackled.  Foot loose!

The Hoboes, not the bindlestiffs of yore, nor Lords of Boxcars, a super group coalition ( Gangster Disciples/Disciples & etc.) of gang thugs are about to be tried in Dirksen Federal Court.

They are wildly dangerous.

Their Hobo associates, who will pack the court, just might be more than mildly dangerous.

The United States Marshall Service asked for permission to shackle the 'several members' ( I am unclear of how many persons constitute a 'several' - more than two, but less than many, I guess) of Hobo coalition, due to manpower shortages, and the danger to the public this gang and their associates pose to everyone.

Well, truth be told,  there are Seven Hobos - a Magnificent Seven - being tried in Dirksen Court. That is seven dangerous persons with seven circles of family and associates.  Sounds like the seven circles of Hell having its day in court.  What could possibly go wrong?  Mark Kirk?


Senator Mark Kirk ( R, Durbin) recommended, President Obama nominated and  the U.S. Senate confirmed by a vote of 86-1 Judge John "Jay" Tharp to the United States District Court for the Northern District. republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah was the only Senator to vote against Jay Tharp.

I would love to speak with Senator Mike Lee.

Mark Kirk has made a national jackass of himself in the United States Senate and he will be soundly defeated by a very weak ( hack) candidate on November 8th.

We have Judge Tharp.

The Hobos will be unshackled. Gee, what could go wrong?

But U.S. District Judge John Tharp denied those requests during a Friday status hearing, claiming the shackles could sway the jurors’ perceptions of the defendants.
“The charges in this case are obviously quite serious, and the concern that the marshals have raised is quite appropriate,” Tharp said. “That said, there’s obvious prejudice that [shackling] inures, and I have to try to balance the rights of the defendants against the legitimate needs of security.”
“What reinforces this is the fact that should the defendants not comport themselves perfectly appropriately at the trial, the prejudice that will float to them from that sort of misconduct will far outweigh the prejudice of shackles,” he continued.
Tharp said it was a “difficult” decision that he will not hesitate to revisit during the trial if necessary.
Tharp also addressed concerns that a guilty plea by one of the defendants could adversely affect the other defendants.

Ask any County Court ( brawlers, drunks, non-political grifters, thieves) veteran about their appearances in the local County Court shackled to other accused after a long night in County.   Yep, shackled for safety reasons - their own and the public.

Shackles like nooses remind us of Roots, Twelve Years a Slave, Ben Hur and Flash Gordon.  We are always reminded that "We are better than that" and "those are not American Values." No, they are constraints. Progressives love their prose purple and their metaphors mixed and Judge Tharp delivers, " . . .  there’s obvious prejudice that [shackling] inures, and I have to try to balance the rights of the defendants against the legitimate needs of security. What reinforces this is the fact that should the defendants not comport themselves perfectly appropriately at the trial, the prejudice that will float to them from that sort of misconduct will far outweigh the prejudice of shackles,”

Ah, yes!  They will rue the day they acted out in Judge Tharp's court!

Judges have great credentials.  Some judges even have common sense.

The United States Marshall Service are ignored by Judge Tharp.  What could possibly go wrong?



Stay tuned.