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Judicial Profile
Honorable Eugene A. Wocjik Judge Wojcik presents a serious demeanor in keeping with the dignity and decorum appropriate to the court – so long as he is on the Bench. When he is not presiding as judge, his entire personality seems to change, and this is intentional. He believes that the law is such a stressful profession that it is imperative to enjoy humor whenever possible or risk being overwhelmed. Take a step back and regain perspective. Towards that end, he told tales of some of the humorous situations which he has known in his years as an attorney and then judge. He grew up in Downers Grove and went to what is now known as Benedictine College in Lisle, Illinois. From there he went on to DePaul Law School. He graduated law school in 1972. Immediately after graduation, he joined the law firm of Tim Harrington which served as house counsel to the Allstate Insurance Company. Three years later he came out to DuPage County and worked for the Public Defender’s Office moving through the units and then serving as First Assistant from 1983 to 1989. He was appointed Public Defender in 1989 and served in that capacity until he was appointed to be an Associate Judge in 1990. Judge Wocjik remembers appearing before Judge Nelligan in 1984. At that time there were four felony courtrooms and a total of only four assistants in the Public Defenders Office. On his first day in felony, there were 50 cases for him. He had to group his clients according to the types of crimes with which they had been charged. This allowed him to present the general information as to the issues once to each group and allowed him a few more minutes to meet personally with each defendant. In his years with, and as, the Public Defender he also did post-conviction work. There was a period when he traveled to Menard Penitentiary yearly and probably had talked to 90% of the people who had been charged in DuPage with murder. His experience with high volume caseloads and some challenging clients was a good preparation for his assent to the bench where he has seen more of the same. Although he now sits in the Small claims court, he has been a floater through most of the high volume calls including traffic and divorce, and has also had two and a half years in a felony courtroom as well as six months in misdemeanor. But, he still remains a "people person". That, he says, helps. After serving in a felony courtroom he actually felt that he had left something of a pressure cooker. The complexity and potential consequences of felony cases are such that a judge must be able to maintain uninterrupted concentration for two hours at a time, eight hours per day for several weeks. It was very physically draining especially since cases tended to be more high profile and were usually handled by the most experienced attorneys. Judge Wocjik feels that the quick presentation of cases in courtrooms such as misdemeanor, traffic and small claims allows a judge to focus intensely for short timespans and then to have the mental relaxation associated with the transition to a new case and topic. Nevertheless he said, "my worst day as a judge was better than my best day as a public defender – except for two days in divorce court." Judge Wojcik, like most judges has had to address the issue of loss of civility within the courtroom. The most difficult division for that was divorce. There, emotion threatens to overcome rationality. Attorneys may become so enmeshed in their client’s positions that they lose their objectivity and take on the persona of the person they represent. He warns against allowing oneself to be so caught up in a case that objectivity is lost. Without objectivity you cannot advise your client properly. Remember, he says "an attorney may do a great job and still lose the case. Your job is not to "win" because you may not have the winning case – your job is to do the best with case that you have." In addition to believing in the need to step back from a case and to appreciate the value of humor, Judge Wocjik urges attorneys to see the big picture. This includes not "playing hardball simply for the sake of being difficult". "Remember you will be generally working with the same group of attorneys for the rest of your professional life. Do not make an enemy needlessly. The need to constantly maintain an aggressive stance will not only affect one’s professional but personal life." Judge Wocjik’s advice: "lighten up." June C. Acton Augusta R. Carke Editorial Board |
