Judge Who Dropped Gun In Courthouse Acquitted

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CHICAGO (CBS)--Cook County Judge Joseph Claps was acquitted Tuesday of a misdemeanor gun charge.

Judge Joseph Claps was seen on surveillance video July 3 at the Criminal Courts building at 26th and California as a gun he was carrying under his jacket slipped out and fell to the floor.

Claps dropped an object that appeared to be a firearm as he entered t the Criminal Courts building at the 26th and California courthouse on July 3.

A judge on Tuesday dropped the charge after his attorney, Thomas Breen, argued there was no proof the object was a weapon.

Breen claimed in court that deputies who were nearby when the object dropped would have reacted quickly if it had been a firearm.