GUILTY IL - Riley Fox, 3, Wilmington, 6 June 2004

[golfmom]

Stanley's Sidelights from the trial ....

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/news/opinions/702694,4_4_1_JO19_COMMENT_S1.article

But since the case has gone to the jury, it's time to dip into the bonus features and look at the dialogue and stage directions from some deleted scenes.

1. Defense attorney Robert Smith asks a police officer about his canine unit.

Smith: And what is the name of the dog?

Witness: Scanner. S-C-A-N-N-E-R.

Judge John Darrah: Are you going to call the dog, Mr. Smith?

Smith: I might. (to the witness) Is Scanner still with us?

Witness: No, he's not.

Smith: That's why I'm not calling him.

-----

5. Plaintiff's attorney Doug Johnson questions Deputy Chief Nick Ficarello about the food he brought for investigators on the night of Fox's interview.

Johnson: You got 20 to 30 hamburgers because you knew it was going to be all night, didn't you?

Ficarello: Some of us were hungry ... Everybody knows police like doughnuts and police like hamburgers. (Jurors snicker, but Darrah glares at a reporter in the audience who has burst out laughing. In the interest of fairness, we won't describe the reporter.)

 

[golfmom]

http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/12/20/ap-state-il/d8tlfivo0.txt

Glasgow, who was not the Will County state's attorney at the time of Fox's interrogation, said in his statement that the jury was not allowed to hear "critical evidence" on the reasons for Fox's arrest. He said the county had made multiple motions for a mistrial.

"It has always been our contention that the sheriff's deputies acted properly during the interview of Kevin Fox and that they had probable cause to arrest him," Glasgow said.

An appeal could take years to resolve, the statement said.

 

[golfmom]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/707718,foxweb122007.article

Glasgow said the appellate process can take up to three years.

“We’ll appeal it, I’m sure,” said Will County Board Chairman Jim Moustis. “I’m certainly disappointed. In my view, his [Kevin Fox’s] own reaction caused some of the problems, from what I can see.”

The county is not responsible for punitive damages. Those payments may have to come from the individuals named in the lawsuit, Moustis said.

Glasgow said all of the compensatory damages, which total $9.3 million, will be covered by the county’s insurance carriers.

He added that the county will ask that the punitive damages, which total $6.2 million, be reduced or eliminated.

As a significant silver lining for the county, the defendants were supported by the jury on conspiracy against Fox, the most serious charge. The jury also found the defendants did not falsely imprison Kevin Fox.

 

[golfmom]

As usual the Trib has the best coverage.
Regarding the appeal and complaints about the judge barring evidence to probable cause. The problem is that the detectives admitted that Kevin was already under arrest when the made the video. Effectively the judge ruled that the 14 1/2 hours included the probable cause and since the 20 minute video occurred after, it wouldn't be shown.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fox21_webdec21,0,960017.story?coll=chi-newsbreaking-hed

Hayes and Deputy Scott Swearengen, who jurors determined were most liable, quickly left the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago with sober expressions and without comment.

Also found liable to lesser degrees were Deputies Michael Guilfoyle and Brad Wachtl, as well as the estate of the late John Ruettiger.On the eve of trial, former State's Atty. Jeff Tomczak was dismissed as a defendant. During trial, a polygraph examiner, forensic interviewer and fifth deputy were dismissed. The reasons they were dismissed are under seal, but a source familiar with the case said all four settled.

-------

Glasgow vowed to appeal, saying U.S. District Judge John Darrah barred evidence that defense attorneys believed would prove the detectives had probable cause to arrest Fox. Darrah late last week ruled that a videotape, made to document Fox's incriminating statement, could not be admitted at trial.

Sheriff Paul Kaupas, meanwhile, stood by his men. "I still support the detectives and find their actions that night to be proper," he said.

 

[tadpole]

but a source familiar with the case said all four settled.

I don't know who their source was but they better fire them. Only Tomczak settled. The other three were dropped.

 

[genecam]

As usual the Trib has the best coverage.
Regarding the appeal and complaints about the judge barring evidence to probable cause. The problem is that the detectives admitted that Kevin was already under arrest when the made the video. Effectively the judge ruled that the 14 1/2 hours included the probable cause and since the 20 minute video occurred after, it wouldn't be shown.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fox21_webdec21,0,960017.story?coll=chi-newsbreaking-hed

Hayes and Deputy Scott Swearengen, who jurors determined were most liable, quickly left the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago with sober expressions and without comment.

Also found liable to lesser degrees were Deputies Michael Guilfoyle and Brad Wachtl, as well as the estate of the late John Ruettiger.On the eve of trial, former State's Atty. Jeff Tomczak was dismissed as a defendant. During trial, a polygraph examiner, forensic interviewer and fifth deputy were dismissed. The reasons they were dismissed are under seal, but a source familiar with the case said all four settled.

-------

Glasgow vowed to appeal, saying U.S. District Judge John Darrah barred evidence that defense attorneys believed would prove the detectives had probable cause to arrest Fox. Darrah late last week ruled that a videotape, made to document Fox's incriminating statement, could not be admitted at trial.

Sheriff Paul Kaupas, meanwhile, stood by his men. "I still support the detectives and find their actions that night to be proper," he said.

I find Sheriff Kaupas's statement supporting the detectives quite interesting, since he testified, under oath, during the trial that he was unaware of any probable cause his detectives had prior to October 26th to arrest Kevin Fox. To me, that was some of the most significant testimony that hurt the defense case.

With regard to an appeal, Will County has several hurdles to face there, as well. They are required to post an appeal bond in an amount to cover specified court costs that the plaintiff would incur in preparing their case to contest the appeal. This is required and the amount is set by the District Court (Judge Darrah, the trial judge).

If the defendants wish to stay the execution of the plaintiffs collection of the damages award, they are required to file a supersedas bond, also in an amount set by the District Court (Judge Darrah), in an amount equal to or greater than the amount of damages awarded to the plaintiff plus interest. They do not need to file a supersedas bond if they do not wish to request a stay of excecution. However, if they do not request a stay of execution, the plaintiff can press for the damages to be awarded to them immediately without waiting for the end of the appeals period. The amount of the supersedas bond can also be set or changed by the appellate court - changed either way.

There also will likely be post-trial motions by the defendants to set aside the jury verdict, and/or to reduce the amount of the award. I doubt that Judge Darrah would set aside the verdict. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he reduced the amount of the award, not necessarily eliminating the punitive damages, though.

Charles Pelkie, a spokesman for the Will County State's Attorney said that the county's insurance only pays compensatory damages and does NOT pay punitive damages. Of the $15.5 million awarded to the Foxes, $6.2 million is punitive damages. The county appears to be squirming about that one, and rightfully so. It would be so sweet for these detectives to have to pay that out themselves - maybe something like 25% deductions from their paychecks, and later their pensions, for the rest of their lives, and from whatever is left of their estates after that. That was something they didn't think about before they hatched their interrogation plot. Oops, I forgot, they weren't found guilty of a conspiracy, just false arrest and fabricating evidence. Probably only because the jury saw that they weren't bright enough to plot a conspiracy.

I think the county would be foolish to continue pursuing this case with the possibility of even more costs levied against them. They should settle this in an amount that their insurance covers and be done with it. Instead it sounds like they are continuing their spreading of lies, rumors and innuendo about the Fox family in order to justify their deviousness and incompetence here.

 

[genecam]

but a source familiar with the case said all four settled.

I don't know who their source was but they better fire them. Only Tomczak settled. The other three were dropped.

How do you know? Who's your source?

I doubt that Hal Dardick would print anything that wasn't corroborated by a reliable source. He's been right on in his reporting of this case - fair, objective and not printing anything that wasn't verified first.

 

[CW]

Jury Awards $15.5 Million To Kevin, Melissa Fox
http://www.nbc5.com/news/14900112/detail.html

 

[golfmom]

I wish I could copy this article in it's entirety here:

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=100987&src=

The Fox case -- and certainly the verdict -- is a warning to all law enforcement officials, said Rob Warden, executive director of the Center for Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University's School of Law.

"To be liable at all in a civil rights case means that they have had to have done something wrong, not just simple negligence," Warden told the Daily Herald's Christy Gutowski. "In other words, they should have known better. They didn't have probable cause to arrest him and they did it anyway."

And now, three years later, Riley's killing still is unsolved. It's unfortunate that Will County officials plan to appeal the civil case they just lost and the defendants say they still suspect that Kevin Fox had something to do with Riley's murder.

It's time they look at the facts, look at the jury's verdict, and learn to move on and spend more time looking to solve this tragic killing.

Enough time has passed. Riley deserves justice now.

 

[genecam]

Excellent article in today's Chicago Tribune by Hal Dardick, who did a great job in covering the trial. The article contains quotes from interviews with Kevin, Melissa, Zellner, Glasgow and Kaupas.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-fox_25dec25,0,613610.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout

Melissa Fox said she believes that Will County authorities now are incapable of conducting an objective probe.

"I don't see what reason Will County will have to solve this," she said during lunch Friday at a suburban restaurant in the company of Kevin Fox; their 21-month-old daughter, Teagan; and Zellner.

Melissa Fox noted that Glasgow vowed to appeal the verdict in their civil rights suit, which alleged that sheriff's detectives fabricated evidence against her husband and coerced an incriminating statement from him during a 14-hour overnight interrogation.

 

[golfmom]

I found this passage interesting:

Both sides note the trial testimony of Karl Reich, a molecular biologist who specializes in DNA and was hired by the Fox legal team led by attorney Kathleen Zellner. Reich said a full DNA profile could be extracted from evidence in the case and fed into a national database of known felons.

"That's something that Ms. Zellner never told us prior to it bursting on the scene at trial," Glasgow said Friday. "Obviously, I am very interested in doing that. ... That will be step No.1."

Doesn't he sound a bit pissy? Is WC is just sitting around waiting for Zellner to solve this case for them? Then Glasgow can thump his chest and take credit, just like he did when the DNA came back and excluded Kevin.

 

[tadpole]

How do you know? Who's your source?

I doubt that Hal Dardick would print anything that wasn't corroborated by a reliable source. He's been right on in his reporting of this case - fair, objective and not printing anything that wasn't verified first.

Lets just say that I know some of the defendants. I work in LE and have some contact with Will County Sheriff's and the Advocacy Center. And upon speaking with one I was told that they was dropped.

 

[tadpole]

I found this passage interesting:

"That's something that Ms. Zellner never told us prior to it bursting on the scene at trial," Glasgow said Friday. "Obviously, I am very interested in doing that. ... That will be step No.1."

Glasgow is an idiot! How can he not know about that when I knew that that was possible and I work for a small municipal agency? I don't know the full name for it but it is called Micro-disection something. Only two states are experimenting with it at the moment. I was under the impression that these states will not help out other states with this technology yet because it is experimental. I know New York is one and I believe the other is Florida. But more importantly why would the Will County State's Atty need someone else to tell him that certain technology exists. Shouldn't he be up to date with all of that?

 

[genecam]

Lets just say that I know some of the defendants. I work in LE and have some contact with Will County Sheriff's and the Advocacy Center. And upon speaking with one I was told that they was dropped.

Nah, I think they settled. I'd believe Hal Dardick over any of the defendants. They lied under oath on the witness stand to cover their a$$e$, and they'd probably lie about the others being dropped just to save face. Pluth and the lie detector guy were toast. They definitely would have been part of the big judgment against the county. And Dobrowski and Tomczak saw which way the wind was blowing and decided to jump ship while they could still swim ashore.

The jail guard was the only one Zellner stated she dropped voluntarily. She made the statement that plaintiffs had reached a confidential resolution with all the others. And that resolution is still under court seal. To me, that means no one is allowed to talk about it and, probably, like most settlements, the terms will never be disclosed. So we will never know for sure. But I'd bet there were settlements, and probably $$$ changed hands, too. I wouldn't believe anything the defendants said.

 

[genecam]

Glasgow is an idiot! How can he not know about that when I knew that that was possible and I work for a small municipal agency? I don't know the full name for it but it is called Micro-disection something. Only two states are experimenting with it at the moment. I was under the impression that these states will not help out other states with this technology yet because it is experimental. I know New York is one and I believe the other is Florida. But more importantly why would the Will County State's Atty need someone else to tell him that certain technology exists. Shouldn't he be up to date with all of that?

Yes, Glasgow is an idiot And so are Kaupus and the detectives. But it really doesn't matter whether they know about this process or not, since they are not investigating Riley Fox's death. At the end of the plaintiff's case, Robert Smith, the defense attorney announced that his clients (the detectives) no longer believed Kevin Fox was involved in Riley's death. And then when the defense started its case, Guilfoyle, Hayes and Swearengen got up on the stand and said they still believe Kevin Fox was involved in his daughter's death. And the so-called "fresh" investigative team formed after Kevin Fox's release from jail hasn't done squat. Two members of that team are detectives from the Will County Sheriff's Office. That's a small office. These two are probably buddies with the original six, and they certainly aren't going to do anything to make the original six look bad. And Glasgow refuses to turn over the investigation to the Illinois Attorney General so that an unbiased investigation can be done.

That's the true crime of the whole thing here. Nobody in Will County law enforcement is looking for Riley Fox's murderer. They're too busy spreading unfounded vicious rumors about the Fox family. The only ones looking for Riley's murderer are the private investigators working for Zellner and the Foxes.

Also, I wish the Herald News would tell the people of Will County the truth about the cost of foolishly pursuing an appeal of the judgment. There is little likelihood of the verdict being overturned, and when the final bill comes due, it's going to cost the county an additional 5 million dollars and no insurance company will want to insure them.

 

[tadpole]

But it really doesn't matter whether they know about this process or not, since they are not investigating Riley Fox's death.
Two members of that team are detectives from the Will County Sheriff's Office. That's a small office. These two are probably buddies with the original six, and they certainly aren't going to do anything to make the original six look bad. And Glasgow refuses to turn over the investigation to the Illinois Attorney General so that an unbiased investigation can be done.

That is where you are wrong the FBI has also been investigating this case for the past two years. Just because new information is not being released to the public does not mean nothing is being worked. That was the problem with the first investigation. A case needs to be investigated privately within and not investigated through the media. If nothing was being done how did the new evidence with the duct tape happen? And that wasn't from Zellner's investigation. The Sheriff's Department sent that evidence the Forensic Lab Tech, AKA Karl Reich, to be tested. Karl Reich was the Sheriff's Dept. consultant working on this case, among other cases.

 

[genecam]

That is where you are wrong the FBI has also been investigating this case for the past two years. Just because new information is not being released to the public does not mean nothing is being worked. That was the problem with the first investigation. A case needs to be investigated privately within and not investigated through the media. If nothing was being done how did the new evidence with the duct tape happen? And that wasn't from Zellner's investigation. The Sheriff's Department sent that evidence the Forensic Lab Tech, AKA Karl Reich, to be tested. Karl Reich was the Sheriff's Dept. consultant working on this case, among other cases.

Looks like another attempt to try and make Kaupus's office look like they have some semblance of competency. First of all, IF the duct tape evidence was a product of the current investigative team, from the date it was disclosed, it took them THREE YEARS to get this duct tape evidence? That's good investigative work?! Come on, not very many people will believe that.

Also, Karl Reich was a plaintiff's witness at the trial and, afterwards Glasgow expressed complete surprise at Reich's testimony - your basis for (correctly) calling him an idiot. If there is any truth to Reich's being the Sheriff's consultant, that would indicate that the Sheriff and Glasgow did not know what each other were doing with regard to the investigation. That would be another example of the investigation being seriously compromised, with the Sheriff trying to sabotage the State's Attorney and vice versa.

As I said before, Will County should just admit that it has neither the competency, capacity, intelligence or motivation to conduct an objective, effective investigation into Riley Fox's murder. They should just turn it over completely to the Attorney General. Until then, no one that's not connected with Will County Law Enforcement will believe that Will County Law Enforcement really wants to find the real murderer.

 

[golfmom]

That is where you are wrong the FBI has also been investigating this case for the past two years.

Tadpole, are you absolutely sure? I would think it would be big news if the FBI was actively working on Riley's case. Especially since Will County has been adamant about conducting this investigation without assistance or oversight. Is it possible you misunderstood your source?

I also think you may have been fed some inaccurate info regarding the defendant's being dropped. The Trib had to verify the info that the defendant's settled prior to publishing.

 

[tadpole]

Especially since Will County has been adamant about conducting this investigation without assistance or oversight. Is it possible you misunderstood your source?

No, I know I did not misunderstand what I heard. All LE in the WC area get together every month on information sharing and we are giving a report of summary of casing going on and some info about them. I have seen it in print that the FBI has been working this case since it happened. Along with the State police, Wilmington Police. I believe you are misunderstanding that Will County is adamant that they can investigate this case instead of turning it over to an outside agency. I guess looking back maybe you understood me as saying the FBI took over the case. I only meant that the FBI has been working this case with WC and state police since the beginning, but more actively involved for the past two years.

The reason I am pretty sure that the three defendants, Dobrowski, Pluth and Williams did not settle because if they were to it would of had to be from their own pockets. The insurance company would of settled on all defendants and not just a few. Plus like I said I heard it from one of the defendant's themselves they didn't settle. They never signed anything to be dropped. They simply were called one evening and were told you are no longer on the suit. I do not believe that all newspaper verify all their info first. Besides the article said "on a source close to the case" well couldn't that source be wrong or trying to insinuate that these people settled as a form of guilt and still trying to hurt these people?

Please remember I am not defending all these defendant's. I do not know the true story I was not there. And that's what I go on not Kevin's story or these officers. What I am defending is that Riley is not forgotten in WC and there is still good hardworking officers actively working this case from many agencies. Just give them a chance for the sake of Justice for Riley.

 

[golfmom]

Tadpole, thank you for the information. I have to tell you that I'm relieved to hear that there are folks actively working on the case.

I do know that the Trib had to confirm the report on the settlement before publishing. So at the very least there were two people who reported that they settled.