A judge ordered an attorney’s cellphone impounded Friday after he was allegedly seen confronting a witness in a sex case against his client and recording her with his phone inside the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Defense attorney Barry M. Lewis, who has practiced in the Chicago area since 1975, had his license reinstated only last month after it was suspended on allegations he had engaged in fraud, according to records from the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
Lewis had appeared in front of Judge David Navarro to file a motion to reduce bond on behalf of his client, who was ordered held in lieu of posting $5,000 bond during a hearing last week before a different judge in the same courtroom.
According to court records, Lewis’ client faces a charge of sexually assaulting his wife during an argument at their home after a customer at the restaurant they both work at had complimented her appearance.
During the hearing Friday, Lewis told Judge Navarro that he was filing the motion and had said he brought the victim in the sex assault case to court to testify on his client’s behalf.
Cook County prosecutors replied they weren’t notified in advance of the motion and were not prepared for a bond review Friday.
Navarro then scheduled a bond review hearing for Dec. 18, and Lewis left the courtroom.
But a short time later, Lewis was called back into court, where Assistant State’s Attorney Morgan Muslin told the judge she had seen Lewis outside the courtroom talking to the victim in an “aggressive” manner by leaning over the woman and holding a phone up to record her.
Muslin said when she asked Lewis what he was doing, he replied she should “mind her own business.” The attorney also told Muslin, as well as a victim witness advocate who was present, that he represented the victim in the sex assault case in addition to her husband, Muslin said.
A Cook County sheriff’s deputy notified Navarro, who called Lewis back into the courtroom.
Standing before the judge, Lewis said: “If this is a contempt hearing, I’d like to have counsel.”
Navarro said he wanted to determine what happened. He said it wasn’t a contempt hearing but told Lewis he didn’t have to say anything.
Lewis denied claiming to be the woman’s attorney but didn’t dispute recording her; he told the judge he didn’t know he wasn’t allowed to take video outside the courthouse.
“In what world?” a visibly angered Navarro scolded Lewis from the bench about claiming to be unaware of courthouse recording restrictions. “You’re not new to this game.”
Muslin’s description of Lewis’ behavior, Navarro said, is “concerning at the very least,” adding that the alleged actions could be considered “conduct that affects the integrity of the courts.”
The judge ordered Lewis to surrender his phone to a sheriff’s deputy.
After Lewis asked if he could download data from his phone before handing it over, the judge said, “There will be no downloading.” The judge also warned Lewis if he accessed the phone remotely and removed any data it was at his own risk and could lead to charges.
Lewis declined to comment to a reporter.
A spokeswoman for the state’s attorney’s office said prosecutors were “reviewing the matter to determine appropriate next steps.”
A contempt charge can be brought either by prosecutors or a judge, said Steven Lubet, a professor at Northwestern University, who was commenting generally on procedures, not on Friday’s incident specifically.
“It’s completely permissible for defense lawyers to speak to a complaining witnesses, but it is impermissible to do it in an aggressive or intimidating manner,” said Lubet, who teaches courses on legal ethics.
After the initial hearing and then the confrontation with Lewis, a source in the sheriff’s department said the woman was “terrified.”
Sources also said the woman did not want to drop the charges against her husband but was being pressured by her family and had been told to appear for the hearing but not told why.
Lewis, whose website describes him as “a greatly experienced and talented criminal defense attorney,” was issued a five-month suspension of his law license by the Illinois Supreme Court on June 11, according to filings by the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission. That followed allegations he engaged in “fraud, constructive fraud, dishonesty, and the crime of insurance fraud based upon his receiving health insurance benefits from his former domestic partner’s insurer for eight years after he was no longer covered,” records show.
Lewis previously worked for 10 years in the Cook County public defender’s office and had not previously been disciplined by the commission, the filings state.
