Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit Defense Blog : Wrongful Conviction Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Andrew M. Hale Law Firm

In a 12 page opinion issued yesterday, Judge Jeffrey Cole denied plaintiff's motion to compel case files from defense expert Arthur Young.  Plaintiff sought documents in 10-15 cases in which Mr. Young conducted Absorption/Inhibition testing.  Mr. Young has opined that defendant Raymond Lenz's inconclusive findings in the Jerry Miller testing were appropriate.  Plaintiff contends that Mr. Young does not use appropriate methods in interpreting and lacks proficiency in Absorption/Inhibition testing.   Plaintiff provided no evidence to support that and their motion was rejected.  

The case is set for trial on February 22, 2010 before United States District Judge Suzanne Conlon.   

As previously reported,  the police officer defendants were dismissed from the lawsuit after Judge Conlon found that the police did not fabricate any evidence against Jerry Miller and that this was an unfortunate case of eyewitness misidentification.    

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

 A Wisconsin judge has rejected Reynold Moore's request for a new trial according to the Green Bay Press Gazette. Moore was one of six men convicted in 1995 of killing a co-worker. Moore's attorneys from the Wisconsin Innocence Project claimed there was "new" evidence - but this alleged "new" evidence turned out to be testimony from a prison inmate who now claimed that Moore had actually tried to prevent the group beating. This same prisoner had testified at trial that Moore admitted to him in jail that he participated in the killing. In rejecting this "new" evidence retired reserve Judge James Bayorgeon stated "It might be said that this testimony and recollections are strongly influenced by wind direction."  Judge Bayorgeon further ruled that even without the prisoner's testimony a jury would have likely convicted Moore.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

ABC7News in Chicago is reporting that MIchael Tilman may be freed this week after 20 years in prison for the murder of Betty Howard in 1986.  Attorneys for Michael Tillman claim that Jon Burge tortured him. Flint Tyalor of the People's Law Office contends Burge "used a form of water boarding, putting water under his nose or 7Up...they put a gun to his head...they beat him,"  The hearing on TIllman's motion for new trial is set for thursday,  Stay tuned....

In July of 1986, someone attacked Betty Howard in her apartment building. Howard was preparing for her son's two year old birthday, but she didn't show up. Howard's son is believed to have been with her until she was found dead a day later.

At the time, police said Michael Tillman committed the crime. Tillman confessed, was convicted and is serving time.

One quick note:  It is quite amazing to see all these people in the last few years who now claim they were tortured by Jon Burge.  It seems like everyone is claiming Burge tortured them.  Don't be so quick to judge. Betty Howard's daughter still belives that Tillman killed her mother. This is not a case where DNA has been uncovered which exonerates Tilman.  What evidence exists to say TIlman did not commit the crime?  

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The Boston Globe is reporting that the a federal district court in Boston has dismissed a wrongful conviction lawsuit brought by Cambridge resident James Haley who spent 34 years in prison before a judge overturned his 1972 murder conviction. Haley learned in 2006 that certain police interviews had not been turned over to his attorney. The Suffolk District Attorney's office agreed the evidence should have been turned over and filed a motion to vacate Haley's conviction. Haley was freed on January 18, 2008 and prosecutors later decided not to retry Haley. U.S. district court judge Richard G. Stearns rejected claims that the detectives - now deceased - deliberately withheld inconsistent statements made by key witnesses and found that prosecutors - not the police - were responsible for disclosing evidence to the defense and that in 1972 the law was not clear on whether the prosecutors were obligated to share these witness statements with Haley's lawyer. Haley was represented in his civil suit by Chicago attorney Jon Loevy from the law firm of Loevy & Loevy.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

 The February 2010 issue of Chicago magazine contains an article "The Professor and the Prosecutor: Anita Alvarez's office turns up the heat on David Protess's Medill Innocence Project" that discusses the ongoing battle over the subpoena that the Cook County State's Attorney's Office has served on the Medill Innocence Project. The main issue in the dispute is whether the students in Protess's class were acting as reporters. The article quotes Alvarez stating: "These students wrote no newspaper story on this case, they wrote no magazine articles. . . What is the purpose of this particular class? . . .  The whole purpose of this was to gather information for court, to gather information that they believe is going to exonerate someone." The article also quotes DuPage County state's attorney Joseph Birkett: "If you are working on an investigation and are assembling evidence for a team of lawyers, I'm sorry, you may be a journalist, but in that scenario you are an investigator, and the journalistic privilege is not going to apply." A court hearing on the dispute will be heard later this month by circuit court judge Diane Gordon Cannon.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link