Hon. Patricia Martin BishopClass of 1985
Presiding Judge, Circuit Court of Cook County
Child Protection Division, Chicago, IL
Patricia Martin Bishop has been a judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County since 1996. Today she is the presiding judge of the Child Protection Division, where she hears child abuse and neglect cases, and monitors the day-to day-administrative duties for the division. Before her service on the bench, Judge Bishop worked with the Office of the Cook County Public Defender for ten years; as an assistant public defender in the Sixth District; as an assistant public defender and attorney trial supervisor in the Early Entry Unit; as attorney trial supervisor in the Sixth District; and as deputy chief of the Fifth District.
She received the 2007 C. F. Stradford Award from Cook County State’s Attorney Richard Devine. The honor recognizes distinguished attorneys and judges within the African American community. She also was elected secretary of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Judge Bishop also has been recognized as an honorary board member of the Chicago Block Club Union, Inc. Other affiliations include the Illinois Judicial Council, the Illinois Judges Association, the Families and Children Leadership Sub Cabinet, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the Chances for Children Task Force.
Judge Bishop attended summer school at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, East Africa in 1979. She received a B.S. from Middlebury College in 1981 and her J.D. from NIU Law in 1985.
She is a member of the Chicago, Illinois State, Cook County, and United States Supreme Court bar associations.