Attorney defends himself at trial in murder-for-hire case
Things have gone from bad to worse over the last five years for a suburban Chicago attorney accused of physically abusing his wife.
In 2010, after a divorce hearing in Will County, Robert Gold-Smith attacked her as they were exiting the Joliet courtroom, knocking her to the floor, according to a CBS Chicago report published at the time and a subsequent Joliet Patch article.
Charged with aggravated domestic battery over that 2010 incident, he was booked into the county jail. There he allegedly asked fellow prisoners about arranging a contract hit on his wife, resulting in new charges.
Now 53, Gold-Smith is defending himself at trial in the murder-for-hire case. On Tuesday, a sister testified that the voice on a recording made by one of the prisoners was not her brother’s.
Gold-Smith told Judge Daniel Rozak that he might call as another witness on his behalf former fellow-inmate David McCarthy IV, the Joliet Patch reports. Meanwhile, McCarthy has been attending the trial.
On Tuesday, McCarthy was banned from the courthouse law library by Chief Judge Richard Schoenstedt unless he gets advance permission to be there.
Schoenstedt told the Patch he imposed the ban for the safety and security of court workers. “He was over-communicating with one of my employees,” the judge said.
A deputy has been assigned to shadow McCarthy while he is in the courthouse, the newspaper reports.
Gold-Smith is not currently authorized to practice law, according to the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, because he has not complied with continuing legal education requirements. His last year as an active lawyer was 2011.
Related coverage:
Herald-News: “Attorney charged in attempted murder-for-hire case in Will County will defend himself”
