Should judge suppress evidence?

On September 6 a Motion to Suppress Evidence Illegally Seized was filed in a case in McHenry County Circuit Court. On October 18 Judge Prather will rule on this Motion.

The gist of the Motion was reported in the media. After reading the Motion I can understand why the media chose to give it broadbrush treatment.

This is the case where a girlfriend ("the" girlfriend? the "Fiancé") ratted out her boyfriend, the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Narcotics Task Force (as it was called in the Motion), and a narcotics detective quickly entered into a sexual relationship with the Confidential Information (the C.I. and "Fiancé").

After conversations between Det. Jason Novak and the C.I., the Task Force descended on the defendant's house in Crystal Lake, where the C.I. and the defendant were living. The next day the defendant was arrested. The C.I. was waiting outside the jail for him when he bonded out.

How did that "raid" come about?

The Motion says that the C.I. had been told by Det. Novak that neither she nor the defendant was in trouble and neither would be arrested. She may have tried to cool things off with Novak.

The Motion continues,"Novak's personal and non-personal contact with Fiancé persisted, and he threatened that if Fiancé did not set up a time and place for him to confiscate (emphasis in the original) the purported materials to 'get [the] shit (sic) off of the street', that it may turn into an actual 'bust' (sic) with charges being filed."

The Motion is very specific about the sexual involvement between Novak and the C.I. late at night at Novak's home. Very specific. Line by line.

The Motion discusses how a search can be made without a warrant, if consent is voluntarily given; i.e., it cannot be coerced, by explicit or implicit means.

Judge Prather's court onThursday, October 18, ought to be packed.

I can't help wondering if Sheriff Nygren or Undersheriff Zinke has read Attorney Stinespring's Motion.

On September 13 the McHenry County Sheriff's Department was ordered to comply with a subpoena and to deliver all documents and videos for Judge Prather's inspection in-camera.

I wonder if the documents will include telephone company records of the number and times of calls between Novak and the C.I. and the number, dates and times of text messages between them.