Negative Ratings Notable Reversals

Judge since: 2011

Jean-Baptiste presides over family law cases, including marriage dissolution and unmarried parental responsibilities to children. He previously presided over child support cases in the First Municipal District. Prior to becoming a judge, Jean-Baptiste served as the 2nd Ward alderman in Evanston. He is a founding member and past president of the Haitian American Lawyers Association of Illinois. He was appointed to the bench in 2011 and won a full circuit judge term by election in 2012.

Bar Association ratings

This year: The CCL and CBA rated him qualified. The ISBA did not recommend Jean-Baptiste, citing reports from attorneys "that he needlessly continues matters ready for a hearing, does not wish to conduct trials, doesn’t always follow the law, and appears to mediate cases from the bench."

Past: Jean-Baptiste was found qualified by the CBA, CCL, and ISBA in 2012.

Notable: In 2016, the Illinois Appellate Court reversed him for failing to issue a stronger protection order for an abused woman, and wrote that he issued comments from the bench that could sseem "callous and insensitive" to domestic violence victims. Baptiste told the woman, that she had to “respect that [her ex-partner] loves you and he still likes you.