Recently, Judge Shapiro (ret.) led a presentation on judicial decision making for the Chicago-Lincoln Inn of Court (sort of a legal fraternity that promotes civility in the profession). The presentation included judicial deliberations by a sitting federal judge and retired Chief Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court. One of the cases was an actual appellate opinion the Chief Justice wrote in the mid-90s. The other was a federal sentencing involving a lawyer who, together with her husband, overbilled clients to the tune of millions of dollars to support their lavish lifestyle.
Instead of participating as a judicial decision maker in the presentation, Judge Shapiro (ret.) reprised his role as an Assistant United States Attorney by acting as the prosecutor in the fraudulent billing case. The federal judge ultimately (but fictionally) sentenced the lawyer to a year and a day in jail.
The lawyers in the Chicago-Lincoln Inn of Court sat in rapt attention as they got a behind-the-scenes look at how judges discuss and decide cases.
