Judge acquits Chicago police commander in spite of DNA evidence

[former9thward]

Source: Chicago Tribune

A Cook County judge on Monday acquitted Chicago police Cmdr. Glenn Evans on charges he shoved his gun down a man's throat in spite of evidence showing the alleged victim's DNA on Evans' gun.

Judge Diane Cannon also played up the inconsistencies in Rickey Williams' account of the on-duty 2013 incident over the years, saying his testimony at the trial last week "taxes the gullibility of the credulous."

Williams was all too "eager to change his testimony at anyone's request to accommodate the evidence," the judge said.

The prosecution's strongest evidence – the recovery of Williams' DNA on Evans' service weapon – was belittled by Cannon as "of fleeting relevance or significance." Evans' had enough "lawful contact" with Williams to explain the DNA on the commander's weapon, she said.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-chicago-police-glenn-evans-trial-verdict-20151214-story.html

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Everything in Chicago needs to be investigated -- not just the police department.

[blackspade]

1. "A Cook County judge on Monday acquitted Chicago police Cmdr. Glenn Evans..."

Who would have expected this from a respected member of the Chicago judiciary....?

[cstanleytech]

11. If he is guilty, ya it sucks but on the hand the prosecutor clearly didnt convince the judge

that the DNA could not have gotten there some other way.
Just goes to show that DNA does have its limitations in cases just like fingerprints or any other evidence.

[2naSalit]

2. Chicago is one of those places where

the sane wish we could just hang up and dial again... there i nothing there that isn't/hasn't been for over a century corrupted to the nth degree. Not surprised at all, disappointed though I don't get my hopes very high when it comes to "cleaning up" Chicago. Seems that corruption is the DNA of that place.

[eggplant]

3. Let's be fair, now.

There were plenty of opportunities for corruption's DNA to have gotten on that nice city.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. more than 100 individual complaints against him over time

and a new one during the trial. Apparently, during a break, he turned to the prosecutor and took his finger, from one ear to the other across his throat.

Talk about contempt of court.

[2naSalit]

5. a mere symptom

of the problem. I lived and worked in and around Chicago for years, just buried my sister in the northern burbs in October... told another sister that I hope I never have to go back there ever again while there. Some of my immediate family is from there so I've had info about the place for a long time. It was one of the happiest moves I ever made when I evacuated to a different state.

[MosheFeingold]

6. So typical of Chicago. n/t

[Spirochete]

7. That place was less corrupt

when Al Capone ran it...

[yellowcanine]

8. "That guy's mouth got in the way of my gun!"

"What was I supposed to do?"

[mysuzuki2]

9. "It's Chi-town, Jake."

[happyslug]

10. The prosecution lost this case, they did not ask for a jury

Juries are known to CONVICT people. The comments from Trial Lawyers is that Juries want to CONVICT, the Defense has to show that the evidence can NOT support a conviction.

Yes, the burden of proof is on the Prosecution, but with a jury all the Prosecution has to show is evidence that supports a conviction, most Juries will convict on that alone. The Defense has to show that the evidence does NOT support a conviction. Remember the OJ Simpson trial, the Glove did not fit and with that evidence the Jury could not bring itself to convict (and the Prosecution charged OJ with Murder NOT Manslaughter, when force to choose between the two, the evidence did not support the intent needed to support a murder conviction, thus OJ walked).

Unlike Juries, Judges tend to have a better understanding of what is "Proof beyond a Reasonable Doubt", thus many defense attorneys, in cases where the evidence is questionable prefer Judge Trials to Jury Trials. Thus my comment, the Prosecution lost this case when it agreed to a no Jury Trial. I do not see the Defendant asking for a Jury Trial, so it was the Prosecution who waived that right.

[alcibiades_mystery]

13. The decision to go to bench trial is the defendant's alone in Illinois

Whether the prosecutor "agrees" with a bench trial is irrelevant.

[happyslug]

17. Since that is the case, we know why the Defence opt for a Bench Trial

n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

18. Police will tend to opt for a bench trial...the last big police acquittal here was also by judge

In this case, the defense bet that reasonable doubt would be clear to a judge, where a jury might be influenced by outside forces. The defense bet right. But it's pretty common for police to opt for bench trial.

[Bernin]

12. Bench trial

This is a prime example of why bench trials need to be outlawed. It's nothing more than a way for cronies to let their buddies off.

And where is the inept DOJ? We have known about Homen Square for 10 months and still nothing out of the DOJ on the subject.

[cstanleytech]

14. The DOJ usually doesnt get involved until after the states finished both its investigation and

any criminal cases.

[Bernin]

15. Well

When the Fed learns that the state is disappearing people and torturing them; I don't think it's prudent to wait for the state to investigate itself.

[Igel]

16. Jury trials are there to protect the defendant's rights.

The defendant is to be tried by a jury of his peers. That's changed in meaning a bit over the years, but these days often it's the plaintiff who's worried that the defendant won't be tried by a jury of the plaintiff's peers.

So a cases juries don't protect the defendant's rights or the defendant isn't sure that the jury will do that, so there's the option of a bench trial. (Technically the defendant is waiving his right to a jury trial.)

The public often wants the jury to be biased the way the public is to arrive at the correct verdict, given what the public knows about the case.

[Nailzberg]

19. The DOJ is ridiculously understaffed to take on this problem.

There are 18 lawyers assigned full time to investigate police matters for the Civil Rights Division.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/chicago-justice-department_5665a85ee4b08e945ff005d9