A La Salle County judge has been appointed to a Grundy County case where a Joliet attorney is charged with domestic battery of a child.

All of the Grundy County judges have recused themselves in the misdemeanor case against Chuck Bretz, 68, of Minooka.

Bretz runs a Joliet law firm that is well known for representing clients in high-profile criminal cases in Will County.

The judges who recused themselves include Sheldon Sobol, Scott Belt and Gary Dobbs, court records show.

Bretz’s case was assigned on Jan. 27 to La Salle County Judge Michelle Vescogni by H. Chris Ryan Jr., the chief judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit Court, which includes Grundy, LaSalle and Bureau counties.

Bretz’s case is scheduled for a court hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the Grundy County Courthouse in Morris.

Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe is prosecuting the case against Bretz after Grundy County State’s Attorney Russell Baker decided not take on the case himself.

Retired Will County Judge Dave Carlson is representing Bretz, who stands accused of striking a 4-year-old child with a belt in a “violent manner” on Oct. 18 in Minooka.

In 2020, Carlson had found Bretz not guilty of driving under the influence and obstructing a police officer in a Will County trial. But Carlson did find Bretz guilty of the traffic offense of speeding.

On Jan. 23, Carlson filed a motion in Bretz’s case that requests a judge to restrict the “custody, viewing and dissemination” of sensitive material in the case.

Carlson’s motion said the discovery in the case may involve photographs, video recordings and other digital media of a “sensitive, potentially explicit nature involving a minor,” which may be in the custody of the police and prosecutors.