Judge recuses himself in Joliet Township murder case

A Will County judge recused himself from a Joliet Township murder case when he learned he once had contact with a potential state witness while working as a private attorney.

On Monday, Judge Vincent Cornelius announced that he will recuse himself in the case against Jeremy Boshears, 36, of Coal City, who is accused of killing Kaitlyn Kearns, 24, and concealing her death in 2017.

Cornelius said that prosecutors had a potential rebuttal witness who had contacted him in the past about the Boshears case while he was still working as a private attorney. He said he did not take a fee or any compensation from this witness and he did not represent anyone in the Boshears case.

Cornelius said he believes he must recuse himself because judges must not only avoid all impropriety but the appearance of it as well. He said he could see the issue with the witness arising again if Boshears is convicted in the case.

“These are the very issues that would be addressed in a post-conviction petition,” Cornelius said.

Boshears’ attorney, Chuck Bretz, disagreed and he said it would be “extremely unlikely” that the witness would take the stand during the trial. Cornelius said he agreed but he thought it would be “wiser from every perspective to take this approach.”

Boshears’ case was sent to Dave Carlson, presiding judge of felony division at Will County Courthouse, for reassignment to another judge. Carlson scheduled a status hearing for Wednesday.

Several other motions from both sides in the case remain pending. One of those motions deal with the prosecution’s request to limit the testimony of defense expert Arthur Borchers.

“It is set for trial but there are numerous issues to be resolved,” Bretz told Carlson.

Bretz said those issues had not been resolved yet because Boshears was under quarantine at the Will County jail and couldn’t make previous court appearances.

Will County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said the jail had one inmate come in positive with COVID-19 that affected the unit where Boshears was housed.

No housing units in the jail are currently under quarantine, according to Hoffmeyer. Boshears was able to appear in court on Monday with his attorney.

Bretz said the case is a “couple of weeks” from trial and he intends for that trial to happen before the end of the year. Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Daniel Egan said he anticipates the trial lasting two weeks.