Relocating Red-light Camera Case A No-go
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
In a state where allegations of political corruption are nothing new, 12 impartial jurors can be found to serve in the trial of a former Chicago official accused of taking bribes, a federal judge has held.
In a written opinion, U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall denied John Bills’ motion to move his trial to federal court in Nevada.
Bills, the city’s former managing deputy of transportation, is charged with steering the contract for the installation of Chicago’s red-light cameras to Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. in return for money and other gifts.
Kendall rejected the argument that media coverage of Bills’ case — and of the hugely unpopular red-light camera program — makes it impossible to seat an impartial jury.
Bills, Kendall wrote, “has not shown that the pretrial publicity in this case has been any more severe than in other local political corruption cases successfully tried” in Chicago’s federal trial court in the past several years.
For example, former Gov. George H. Ryan was convicted in 2006, while former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich was found guilty in an unrelated case five years later, Kendall wrote.
She also noted that more than 8 million people live in the eight counties — Cook, Lake, Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Will, Grundy and LaSalle — that make up the eastern division of the Northern District of Illinois.
“Because the eastern division of this district is extremely vast, diverse and bustling, any potential for prejudice emanating from pretrial publicity is thoroughly mitigated,” Kendall wrote.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
In a state where allegations of political corruption are nothing new, 12 impartial jurors can be found to serve in the trial of a former Chicago official accused of taking bribes, a federal judge has held.
In a written opinion, U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall denied John Bills’ motion to move his trial to federal court in Nevada.
Bills, the city’s former managing deputy of transportation, is charged with steering the contract for the installation of Chicago’s red-light cameras to Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. in return for money and other gifts.
Kendall rejected the argument that media coverage of Bills’ case — and of the hugely unpopular red-light camera program — makes it impossible to seat an impartial jury.
Bills, Kendall wrote, “has not shown that the pretrial publicity in this case has been any more severe than in other local political corruption cases successfully tried” in Chicago’s federal trial court in the past several years.
For example, former Gov. George H. Ryan was convicted in 2006, while former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich was found guilty in an unrelated case five years later, Kendall wrote.
She also noted that more than 8 million people live in the eight counties — Cook, Lake, Kane, DuPage, Kendall, Will, Grundy and LaSalle — that make up the eastern division of the Northern District of Illinois.
“Because the eastern division of this district is extremely vast, diverse and bustling, any potential for prejudice emanating from pretrial publicity is thoroughly mitigated,” Kendall wrote.
Read more in our daily News Update...