McGivern v. Hadley Case Documents

Repository of public court documents from Cook County cases 20251707919 and 2025CH05527

Plaintiff’s Motion for Substitution of Judge as a Matter of Right

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Case: McGivern v. Hadley, No. 2025-M1-707919 (Circuit Court of Cook County, Municipal Division) · Judge: Kelly Marie McCarthy
Filed: December 3, 2025· Decided: December 8, 2025

Ruling

On December 8, 2025, Judge McCarthy entered a form Transfer Order to Presiding Judge 1303 with the box for “4317 Substitution of judge” checked and the basis written as “AS OF RIGHT,” transferring the cause instanter (immediately) to the Honorable E. Kenneth Wright, Jr., Presiding Judge of the 1st Municipal District, for further proceedings. On December 29, 2025, Presiding Judge Wright entered an Order Room Assignment and Status assigning the case to Room 1406 and setting status for 9:30 a.m. on January 13, 2026, with the notation “SOJ Judge Kelly Marie McCarthy.”

The Motion (Plaintiff Brandon McGivern, pro se, December 3, 2025)

McGivern moved under 735 ILCS 5/2-1001(a)(2) for substitution of judge as a matter of right (a statutory entitlement to one change of judge without showing bias). He asserted that the August 2025 administrative reassignment from Judge Porter to Judge McCarthy occurred without either party’s request and did not consume that right, that he had not previously exercised it, and that no trial on the merits had occurred, making the motion timely. He cited Eychaner v. Gross, 202 Ill. 2d 228 (2002), and In re Marriage of Wazny, 2015 IL App (2d) 140530. In a section labeled informational and not required for relief, he described matters including the December 3, 2025 hearing on his emergency motion for contempt and property access, use and occupancy (payments for continued occupancy during litigation) set at $2,080 per month against asserted market rent of $3,259 and mortgage obligations of $2,303.69, the vacating of a July 21, 2025 default judgment, asserted late payments, and asserted denials of property access.

The Court Order (Judge McCarthy, December 8, 2025)

The orders contain no findings beyond the ruling, the transfer, and the reassignment and status setting..

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