Seipler v. Nygren - enter Mark Gummerson?

Just got a call from a reader who asked me if I had read Cal Skinner's article yet on McHenry County Blog - about Nygren and Mark Gummerson. No, I haven't. I now know it's there, and I am going to read it, for sure. But first I'm going to write my own article.

Of course, I read the Northwest Herald article this morning, which let Sheriff Keith Nygren whine at the top of Page 1. I still get a print edition at home every morning, just so I can have fun with the scissors and slice out all the fodder for the day's grist mill.

Early this afternoon I was at the courthouse, where I read (some of) the petition that was filed by R. Mark Gummerson in 10MR000011, which is the case by Zane Seipler in which Zane asks for a special prosecutor to investigate Nygren.

The ten-page petition, which would take a Philadelphia lawyer a week to understand and will probably take Judge Meyer a year on which to rule, lays out, in high-falutin' terms (all legalese, of course)), why Attorney William Caldwell cannot be appointed to represent Nygren. Not "should not". Not "could not". Why he CAN not be appointed.

How many months will it take to argue that Motion, which will probably have to be cleared away before Zane's request can be ruled on?

Zane's legal action names Nygren, in his official capacity and personally. In yesterday's petition Nygren asks for Gummerson to be appointed to defend him "in his official capacity.".

OK, folks. Mind those four little words carefully - "in his official capacity". Then start putting a whole lot of dollar signs behind them. If Nygren ran off to Gummerson's office (or, more likely, told Gummerson to hot-foot it over to 2200 N. Seminary Ave.) to get the ball rolling on the petition that was filed yesterday, don't you just have to wonder what the legal fee was for that? There's the start-up time, the research time, the drafting time, the time in the office for 2-3 lawyers to "confer". Yesterday's peition was not of the "off the shelf" variety. I'll bet the fee just for the petition was $5,-10,000. And from what fund will that be paid? The McHenry County Sheriff's Department's budget. That's my guess, anyway.

I laughed out loud at Paragraph 10. "It is not in the best interests of the County of McHenry for the Court to grant (Seipler's) petition" for a special prosecutor.

Well, duh... of course, it's not in the best interests of McHenry County. Just imagine what could come to light.

On the contrary! The "County of McHenry" is the People, not Sheriff Keith Nygren. It's the People, Keith. The people whom you swore to serve and protect. Those people, Keith. Us!!!

So, yes, it is in our best interests for a special prosecutor to investigate Sheriff Keith Nygren, in his official capacity and personally.

Is Nygren trying to run out the clock? Stall, stall, stall? With Undersheriff Andy Zinke's having announced an election campaign for THREE years from now (2014!!!), should we expect Nygren to bail sooner, so that his hand-picked successor can slide right in?

Let's hope that Judge Meyer rules immediately that he will not appoint Mark Gummerson as Nygren's attorney. If Keith wants to hire him at his personal expense, fine.

But isn't there a strong conflict-of-interest? Gummerson is known as a defense attorney. He's in the courthouse every day, fighting tickets issued to his clients by McHenry County Sheriff's deputies. Doesn't this put him on the other side of the "fence"?

Sure, they can both belong to the Republican Party. They can hobnob socially and smile and be friendly. But in legal matters, doesn't Gummerson's role as a defense attorney preclude his representing Nygren in any case. Might Gummerson be able to learn insider information that could help him (unfairly) to win a case in court? Just thinkin' ...