* For whatever reason, Will County Circuit Judge Dave Carlson decided to blame the SAFE-T Act for forcing him to release a full-timemember of the notorious Outlaws motorcycle gang from jail who was accused of murder and concealing the body. From April…

A Will County judge suggested that he may have no choice under the state’s SAFE-T Act but to release Jeremy Boshears ahead of his second trial for murder in the 2017 shooting of a woman at the clubhouse for the Joliet Outlaws motorcycle gang.

Circuit Judge Dave Carlson made his comments at a Wednesday hearing in which a prosecutor contended that Boshears is a threat to witnesses and the community, while his defense attorney pointed to his record in more than six years of being in jail as someone who “follows the rules.”

Carlson questioned whether the charges pending against Boshears mattered under the SAFE-T Act law that eliminated cash bail and set standards by which defendants could be held in jail before trial.

Calling the Illinois standards the “most lenient” in the nation, Carlson asked attorneys: “Aren’t we supposed to essentially set a blind, false standard for pretrial release? Isn’t that where we’re at in the state of Illinois? Aren’t we supposed to say, ‘You’re charged with a crime, but we’re going to let you go until you’re found guilty?’”

* About a week later…

A Will County judge granted the jail release of a Coal City man who had been previously convicted of a 2017 murder at the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse but also ordered his ruling to not take effect for 21 days. […]

Carlson said he hoped his decision in Boshears’ case would illustrate all the potential problems he believed existed with the SAFE-T Act and the law’s demands on the judicial branch when considering defendants’ pretrial release. […]

Carlson said he was not going to get into the politics surrounding the SAFE-T Act or his own feelings regarding it, but he nevertheless said the law “poses more questions than answers” and puts judges in a “really, really bad spot.”

Judge Carlson retired the following day.

* Fast-forward to early May…

Prosecutors argue a former Will County judge refused to make several findings in accordance with a provision of the SAFE-T Act when he ordered the release of a man charged with murder, such as whether he posed a threat to others and the community. […]

In the May 6 motion, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Mark Shlifka said there is a statutory requirement that judges make specific findings for detention hearings under the Pretrial Fairness Act.

However, Shlifka argued Carlson refused to make those findings at Boshears’ April 29 court hearing in accordance with the act. […]

Shlifka’s motion argued Carlson “explicitly and intentionally chose not to follow the [Pretrial Fairness Act], or make the requisite findings.”

* The new judge agreed with prosecutors…

A new detention hearing was held for a man charged with murder after a Will County judge determined a retired judge failed to follow requirements under a provision of the SAFE-T Act when allowing the man’s jail release.

On Thursday, Will County Judge Jessica Colón-Sayre vacated a court order from former Judge Dave Carlson that allowed the pretrial release of Jeremy Boshears, 39, of Coal City. Boshears stands charged for a second time with first-degree murder and concealment of a woman’s homicide at the Joliet Outlaws clubhouse.

Colón-Sayre determined Carlson failed to make findings on whether there was clear and convincing evidence that Boshears committed the offenses he’s charged with, posed a threat to others and was a flight risk. […]

Colón-Sayre said while the changes to the legal system brought on by the SAFE-T Act posed a challenge for Carlson, judges still have to follow the law and provide a record that allows for appeals by defense attorneys and prosecutors.

* And an Illinois appellate court has since upheld the detention order…

An appellate court upheld the pretrial detention of a former Joliet Outlaws motorcycle club member who for a second time is facing charges of killing a woman and hiding her body.

Carlson “failed to make the adequate findings” required by the SAFE-T Act and he then “retired from the bench,” according to [Appellate Court Justice Lance Peterson]. […]

While Boshears has no criminal history, his dangerousness was evident from the “nature and circumstances of the offenses,” his access to weapons and his first murder conviction, the appellate court noted.

More details about the crime are in the appellate ruling, so click here. Ugh. That is one dangerous defendant, and that was a very dangerous judicial temper tantrum.

Also, the county state’s attorney sued to block the SAFE-T Act from taking effect. And now, that same state’s attorney has successfully used the new law to keep a dangerous person behind bars.

Funny how life works.