O'Connor Contempt Hearing

On Friday, October 16, at 9:00AM Judge Joseph P. Condon will hear the petition that requests criminal contempt charges against special prosecutor David J. O'Connor, of Orland Park, Ill. He is the attorney who prosecuted Amy Dalby, whose case was knocked down from multiple (six?) felonies to one misdemeanor.

In Dalby's sentencing hearing on June 1, O'Connor requested the Court's permission to release "any Grand Jury information or any other discovery" to any other prosecutorial agencies. (Page 51, Lines 19-23, of the transcript)

It is thought that O'Connor released the confidential Grand Jury information to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC), and Amy Dalby, through her attorney Wes Pribla, contends that the ARDC is not a prosecutorial agency.

Dalby, through Pribla, asks that the Court make a determination as to whether O'Connor is in direct or indirect criminal contempt and, if so, asks the Court to punish him by fine or imprisonment and to pay Dalby's expenses and fees to bring the contempt action.

From the ARDC website (www.iardc.org) comes the following description of what the ARDC does:

"The Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, an agency of the Illinois Supreme Court, is responsible for maintaining current records of registration and discipline information for lawyers licensed to practice in Illinois, investigating allegations of misconduct by lawyers, and prosecuting the cases where a lawyer's misconduct suggests a threat to the public or to the integrity of the legal profession."

So, let's see here: according to its website, the ARDC
1. is an agency; and
2. prosecutes cases.

Will it be a pretty short hearing on Friday morning?

Anyone care to guess what the next legal action will be?