Cook County judge charged after gun falls out of jacket at Leighton Courthouse

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

A Cook County judge will be standing before the bench instead of sitting behind it when he appears in court next week after allegedly bringing a gun into a Chicago courthouse.

Judge Joseph Claps was charged Friday with a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon in a prohibited area after he was seen dropping a gun on the floor of the Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 2600 S. California Ave., according to a Cook County Sheriff’s Office incident report.

Judge Claps was walking through the lobby of the courthouse just before noon on July 3 when a sheriff’s deputy saw a handgun fall from his jacket pocket onto the floor, according to the report.

Claps picked up the gun, put it into his pants and continued walking, the report said. Two deputies who witnessed Claps drop the gun reported the incident to supervisors, who then reviewed surveillance video.

Gun laws in Blue America..................