Judge overturns order barring unvaccinated mother from seeing her son

The Cook County judge who banned a mother from seeing her son because she was not vaccinated against COVID-19 also asked other parents in his courtroom about their vaccination status and admitted to having ordered some parents and children to get vaccinated, the Sun-Times has learned.

In both cases, Judge James Shapiro appears to have started the discussion on vaccine status.

In the most recent case, Shapiro on Monday revoked her order that had barred a divorced mother from Pilsen from seeing her 11-year-old son.

Shapiro’s one-paragraph order in Rebecca Firlit’s case gives no reason for her change of mind, simply stating that “this court CANCEL paragraph 3 of its August 11, 2021 order on the basis of the absence a plea or a serious endangerment hearing ”under Illinois law.

Annette Fernholz, the lawyer representing Firlit, said that in her client’s case, the judge “was far beyond her judicial authority”.

“I have had adverse reactions to vaccines in the past and my doctor advised me not to get the vaccine. It’s a risk, ”Firlit told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Joined Monday, Firlit said: “I am extremely happy, I will see my son right away.” But she added: “I know they are going to say that I am a danger to my son. It’s not over for me.

Jeffery Leving, lawyer for Firlit’s ex-husband Matthew Duiven, called the judge’s overthrow “unfortunate.”

“I am currently working on an emergency motion to combat it,” Leving said on Monday.

The judge raised the vaccination status in other cases

In an unrelated child support case at the end of July, said Edward Hambrick of Joliet, Shapiro was presiding over a virtual court hearing when he asked Hambrick if he had been vaccinated.

Hambrick, a 48-year-old computer consultant, did not respond, telling the judge it was personal.

Provided

Hambrick said he videotaped his Zoom court hearing, which is against court rules, due to what he called a bad experience with the court system in the past. He decided to share the video – which he split into eight shorter videos on TikTok on Sunday – after learning of the judge’s ruling against Firlit. The decision caught the attention of international media.

The videos were shot behind a laptop and focused on Hambrick. The screen is not visible, but Shapiro and Hambrick can be heard.

The Chicago Sun-Times sent the videos to Mary Wisniewski, communications director for Chief Justice Tim Evans of the Cook County Circuit Court, for verification. She responded in an email, writing “it sounds like Judge Shapiro” and added that it is against court rules to tape hearings without prior permission from the chief justice’s office.

In a video, viewed over 67,000 times, Shapiro discusses the subject of COVID-19 vaccines.

“Have you been vaccinated? Shapiro asks Hambrick.

A discussion begins as to whether the issue violates HIPAA, a federal law governing the disclosure of an individual’s health information by health care providers and insurance plans.

Then Shapiro tells him, “It would be up to you to get the vaccine, sir.” … It’s not a personal matter because it affects other people, okay? And that does not violate HIPAA.

Hambrick tells Shapiro that he has seen family members who are nurses and doctors.

“I would be very surprised if you saw a doctor who advised you against getting vaccinated,” Shapiro says.

“I wouldn’t be so surprised if you saw a nurse who has not been vaccinated because nurses apparently in Houston and elsewhere refuse to be vaccinated. It says a lot about their level of intelligence and I wouldn’t want to be treated by a nurse who refused to be vaccinated. It’s not a choice, Mr. Hambrick, it’s an obligation.

“It’s just stupid not to get vaccinated”, says judge

In another video shot and posted by Hambrick, Shapiro is heard telling another man at another hearing on the same day that he should be vaccinated and admits to ordering some parents and children to be vaccinated.

“It’s just plain stupid not to get the shot,” Shapiro told the man. “No one with half a brain gets vaccinated these days. The only people who don’t get the shot die, okay. So I invite you and your daughter to get vaccinated. It’s stupid not to do this and I ordered parents to get the shot and some kids to get the shot too. This is how convinced I am of the effectiveness of this vaccine. Reasonable minds cannot differ about this vaccine. “

Hambrick, who said he was not vaccinated because he thought it was dangerous, said the problem “has absolutely nothing to do with my case.”

Family law attorney Joseph Emmerth, who is based in a suburb of Warrenville, said Shapiro’s questions are “a disturbing and unwarranted overshoot” because “someone’s medical history and medical choices do not are really not the business of the court to begin with “.

Hambrick, who is representing himself, is scheduled to appear before Shapiro again on September 21, but has filed for a new judge.

Shapiro did not respond to a request for comment.