URBANA — Attorneys who practice in Champaign County apparently don't care for the judge assigned to traffic court.

In a poll of Illinois State Bar Association members released last week, the lawyers recommended that Associate Judge Holly Clemons not be retained when her appointment is up for renewal next month.

Clemons, 53, of Urbana, is the longest serving of the five associates on the bench in Champaign County but received the lowest marks. She was appointed to her job in 1996. She declined to be interviewed for this story.

Associate judges serve at the pleasure of the elected circuit court judges and have their performances reviewed by the circuit judges every four years.

The circuit judges cast secret ballots for or against their lesser-paid colleagues that are tallied by the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts. Those ballots are due in Springfield June 3.

(All Illinois circuit judges are paid $178,835 annually; associate judges make $169,893.)

If history repeats itself, it's unlikely Clemons would be fired. Indeed, Presiding Judge Tom Difanis has already announced a change of assignments for some of the judges effective Oct. 1.

On May 11, Difanis announced that Clemons will move from traffic to the civil division, where she'll hear orders of protection, support enforcement, guardianships and probate primarily.

Judge Brian McPheters, who has been doing those, will go back into traffic court.

The other major change in day-to-day operations involves Associate Judge John Kennedy taking over the misdemeanor and DUI dockets from Associate Judge Richard Klaus. Klaus will assume the duties Kennedy had: arraignment court, city ordinance violations and juvenile abuse and neglect cases primarily.

Just over 42 percent of the attorneys eligible to vote in the ISBA poll actually cast ballots. Only those with working knowledge of the judges are asked to vote. Of 632 ballots mailed out, 268 were returned.

Judges are evaluated on their integrity, impartiality, legal ability, temperament, court management, health and sensitivity. They are then rated "recommended" or "not recommended" based on whether the responding lawyers agree that the judge "meets acceptable requirements for the office."

Clemons scored a 55.65 in that category, well below the 65 percent needed for a judge to be recommended for retention.

The other associate judges scored the following in the "meets requirements of office" category: Klaus, 89.66; Kennedy, 82.98; Chase Leonhard, 80.74; and McPheters, 80.

Difanis said the circuit judges do take seriously the feedback from the attorneys who practice before them.

"The bar polls are useful because they let us know what attorneys think of our performance," he said, adding that traffic court is a "meat grinder" of an assignment.

Privately, attorneys complain that Clemons is too rigid in her approach to how cases should be resolved.

Among their gripes: She's been known to issue arrest warrants for clients who show up minutes late for court. On docket call days, cases are called alphabetically, meaning attorneys with multiple clients can sit for a long time, announce they have a plea agreement then are told to return another day for the plea. In a courtroom known for high volume, her lack of efficiency has frustrated attorneys and defendants alike.

Difanis said he has discussed the bar poll and Clemons' performance with her. Having been on the receiving end of criticism by lawyers in the past, Difanis said he was "devastated" by low numbers which he "managed to get without even doing traffic court."

He said he expects Clemons' numbers will improve in the future.

In Vermilion County, which is in the Fifth Judicial Circuit, Associate Judge Mark Goodwin scored a perfect 100 in all categories, followed by Derek Girton and Karen Wall. In the "meets requirements of office category, Girton scored 95.56 while Wall scored 91.11.

Of the 198 ballots mailed out, 117 were returned.