On multiple occasions, the rulings rendered by Cook County Circuit Judge Nicholas Ford have been criticized and reversed by appellate courts in Illinois. In fact, his judicial rulings were reversed in more than a dozen cases and many courts went so far as to level harsh criticism about his refusal to review the viable defenses and issues raised by defense attorneys advocating on behalf of their clients, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. In one of the most galling examples of bias shown towards a criminal defendant by a member of the judiciary, Judge Ford found a defendant guilty of murder and sentenced him to 76 years in prison after a bench trial. What was the key piece of evidence that persuaded Judge Ford to find the defendant guilty? An eyewitness who was legally blind. Yes, you read that correctly – a blind eyewitness. In another disturbing example, an Illinois appellate panel reversed Judge Ford’s decision to reject a post-conviction petition by a defendant who said he had been tortured by law enforcement into falsely confessing to a crime. Judge Ford dismissed the petition for lack of evidence, but the appeals court found that this judge actually refused to allow the defendant to obtain evidence that the detectives involved in his criminal matter had been accused of torture in other cases. In yet another shocking example of judicial bias, an Illinois appellate panel found that Judge Ford abused his discretion by actually challenging a psychiatrist’s testimony regarding the sanity of a murder suspect. The appeals court asserted that Ford abandoned his role as a neutral and impartial arbiter of fact by adopting a prosecutorial role and displayed clear bias. Will this judge be forced to answer for his pattern of disregard towards the rights of defendants? Probably not. Judge Ford decided to simply step down and retire. There is no indication that he will be formally reprimanded or punished. Instead, he will likely get to enjoy retirement with full benefits.