Chicago Tribune on Bianchi trial

Read the Chicago Tribune's take on Lou Bianchi's trial. Then re-read it. Then read it a third time. And read carefully Lou Bianchi's words

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-bianchi-interview-20110329,0,7223978.story

Let's hope that all of the staff at the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office read it.

But what the public needs to know, also, is that it is the State's job to prove you are guilty. And it is your job to keep them from doing so. You don't have to prove your innocence; they have to prove your guilt.

So, if the State's attorneys are better "salesmen" in court, if they are better showmen, if they play the game better than the defense, you are going to get convicted - by a jury. However, a judge may be likely to be swayed by theatrics and just let them bounce off him.

Lou Bianchi was smart to choose a bench trial. He understands judges. Too many people rush for a jury trial, because it will drag out the calendar until the hammer drops. By picking a bench trial, and an out-of-county judge, Lou got a fair trial.

A defendant cannot count on a jury to give him a fair trial, because a jury can be swayed by emotional arguments by the prosecuting attorneys. In a 2006 case in McHenry County the State "humanized" a dog that had been shot in self-defense. The judge warned them not to do that. They did it again and got away with it again. Did the jury even understand "humanize"? The prosecution launched an emotional campaign on the jury, and it "sold" them. The defense was playing a different game, and it never caught up.