Friday, August 26, 2011

Eavesdropping trial due to start Aug. 29

Remember way back on April 14, 2010, when the Northwest Herald carried an article about the arrest of Alexander Henson, then 25, for recording police and their conversation in a house in McHenry. The cops allegedly told him to stop recording with his cell phone and then arrested him.

Case No. 10CF000388 has been dragging its way through the court system and is set for a jury trial before Judge Prather on Monday, August 29 at 9:00AM. Will it go?

On recent court dates of April 11 and May 24, the State's Attorney's office made motions to continue the case. What will happen on August 29? Will the State's Attorney's Office, which is prosecutiing this case for the McHenry P.D., ask that charges be dismissed?

Will Henson roll the dice and proceed with a jury trial? Certainly, his attorney (at the law firm of Kililis Ridings & Vonau) and he have read the recent Cook County case in which a jury found a defendant not guilty of recording cops (eavesdropping (recording cops without their permission) is a felony in Illinois).

You can read the August 25th Chicago Tribune story here The story includes: "On Wednesday, though, a Criminal Court jury quickly repudiated the prosecution's case, taking less than an hour to acquit (Tiawanda) Moore on both eavesdropping counts."

Or will he not roll the dice and plead to some small, reduced, misdemeanor offense, pay a small fine and walk away from it?

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