A judge whose comments about a witness in a murder case led to a mistrial was ordered transferred Friday out of the Rolling Meadows branch of Cook County Circuit Court.
Associate Judge Earl Hoffenberg will move, effective Monday, to Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, where “he’ll probably be hearing misdemeanor cases and traffic cases, rather than felony cases,” Chief Judge Donald O’Connell said Friday.
O’Connell ordered the transfer two days after a mistrial in a case involving two 19-year-olds, Amy Landers and Zbigniew Krzeckowski, who were accused of killing an off-duty Chicago police officer.
Hoffenberg, who was hearing the case without a jury, listened to prosecutors cross-examine a 17-year-old defense witness on Wednesday when, according to lawyers, he began to openly suggest that he didn’t believe the witness’ testimony.
“Judge Hoffenberg started making comments about not believing the witness,” said Richard Brzeczek, Landers’ attorney. “I could not believe what I was hearing.”
Mistrials most often occur in jury trials, where jurors may be inadvertently exposed to some improper statement or evidence. It’s unusual for a judge to make a comment from the bench that causes lawyers to question his or her impartiality.
Lawyers for Landers and Krzeckowski asked the judge to declare a mistrial, and Hoffenberg agreed.
As a felony court judge, Hoffenberg has had “other emotionally wrenching cases,” O’Connell said.
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Hoffenberg said Friday that he would not comment on the matter.
Prosecutors say Krzeckowski punched 65-year-old Frank Balzano, who was moonlighting as a security guard. Balzano was knocked to ground, hit his head and died from his injuries. Prosecutors contend Landers also had a role in the fight.
Judge Joseph Urso, the presiding judge in the Rolling Meadows branch, on Friday called Hoffenberg a fine judge.