Friday, October 26, 2012

Leist - Sheriff's lawyer or not?

Remember the 2009 case, when Peter Matwijiw was arrested by Deputy Robert Chamberlain of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department? Matwijiw was charged with resisting arrest. The case blew up on the Sheriff's Department, and Matwijiw was acquitted in a jury trial on April 13, 2011.

Matwijiw didn't take it lying down. He (Plaintiff) filed a lawsuit in Federal Court, claiming

"...that Chamberlain seized plaintiff without having reasonable suspicion that he was involved in criminal activity, in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights (Count I); falsely arrested plaintiff without legal justification or probable cause, in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights (Count II); used excessive force during the arrest, in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights (Count III); and committed the tort of malicious prosecution, in violation of state law, when he instituted charges against plaintiff for obstructing a peace officer and resisting a peace officer without having probable cause (Count IV). Plaintiff also alleges that Sheriff Nygren is liable for Chamberlain’s malicious prosecution..."

The Sheriff's Department is represented by the McHenry County State's Attorney's Office.

But, was it Don Leist who filed a Motion to Dismiss in Case No. 3:11-v-50191 in U.S. District Court Northern District, in Rockford? Why would the EEO officer be filing a Motion? It's not an employment issue.

Federal Judge Kapala denied the Motion on May 4, 2012.

Has Leist continued to nose around in the case? Why? Is there a failure-to-supervise issue here? Or is the Sheriff or Undersheriff directing Leist to perform duties outside the scope of his employment? Leist is an attorney. Why doesn't he refuse?

What is the status of Matwijiw's case in Rockford? Will there be depositions, continuing legal fees by both sides, transcripts, more trips to Rockford? Will it proceed to trial? Remember; Matwijiw was found Not Guilty in McHenry County court. Will the County settle?

Or will it be, "Damn the ice fields. Full speed ahead."

1 comment:

Cal Skinner said...

There is an article about the status of the case on McHenry County Blog. I

It can be found here:

http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2012/10/26/judge-kapala-notes-settlement-of-excessive-force-and-false-arrest-case-brought-by-citizen-against-mchenry-county-sheriffs-department/