On April 26, 2002, a Motion for Substitution of Judge for Cause was filed against judge Philip S. Lieb (Cook County). Under Illinois law, immediately upon the filing of any Motion for Substitution of Judge, the judge loses any authority to proceed in the case, until another judge has heard the motion and either denied the motion or agreed that the judge must be substituted.

Instead of complying with the law, judge Philip S. Lieb continued to act unlawfully as he has consistently done so with other litigants, in that on May 16, 2002, he issued a Memorandum Order in order to sway the reviewing judge Ponce de Leon. judge Lieb had no authority under the law to issue such a Memorandum Order, but in so doing so, he not only violated Illinois law but also violated Jim Burger's First Amendment Constitutional Rights.

Whenever a judge has violated a person's Constitutional Rights, the judge has lost jurisdiction in that action, for he no longer is acting as a judge, but is acting only in his person. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 1687 (1974); Ex Parte Young, 209 U.S. 123 (1908).

The judge no longer retains jurisdiction but the case must be transferred to another judge for the court to have jurisdiction, without violating the person's Constitutional Rights.

Illinois law is well-settled in that once a motion for substitution of judge is brought before a judge, the judge loses all power and authority over the cause. People v. Bell, 658 N.E.2d 1372 (1995), The issuance of a Memorandum Order by judge Philip S. Lieb after Jim Burger filed his Motion for Substitution of Judge violated Illinois law.

judge Ponce de Leon, upon reviewing the Memorandum Order, should have known that judge Philip S. Lieb had violated Illinois law and Jim Burger's Constitutional Rights and had lost jurisdiction. Instead judge Ponce de Leon violated Illinois law and Jim Burger's Constitutional Rights, and he issued a void order, an order which judge Ponce de Leon did not have jurisdiction to issue.

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 62(A) states that "A judge should respect and comply with the law and should conduct himself or herself at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary".  "Supreme Court Rules have the force of law". Phillips v. Joyce, 169 Ill.App.3d 520, 523 N.E.2d 933, 934 (1st Dist. 1988). judge Philip S. Lieb's failure to comply with the law in the Burger matter is just another example of his lack of respect for the law.

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