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*** UPDATE 1 *** In the old days, a police report wouldn’t have even been filed…
Lake County sheriff’s deputies were called to the home of state Sen. Suzi Schmidt (R-Lake Villa) Monday night for a reported domestic dispute, the sheriff’s department said this morning.
It was the second time in six weeks police had been called to the home for a disturbance.
Details of the incident Monday were not immediately known. Sheriff’s deputies spoke with Schmidt and her husband Robert Schmidt as they investigated the allegations and referred the case to the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office. That agency declined to pursue charges, the sheriff’s department said.
The last time there was trouble at the Schmidt home, the husband called the coppers. It’s not clear yet who dialed 911 this time.
*** UPDATE 2 *** Oy…
According to a Lake County sheriff’s department report, police arrived at Schmidt’s home at about 6:30 p.m. Monday, where her husband, Robert, told authorities that his wife struck him with a cell phone, bit both of his forearms and scratched his face.
Suzi Schmidt told officials her husband had knocked her to the ground, got on top of her and struck her in the eye.
“Robert had a large laceration on his forearm consistent with a bite, and other injuries,” the police report said. “Suzanne had a red mark on her left eye.”
* DuPage County is and has always been about small-town politics…
Justin Kmitch reports that state Rep. Randy Ramey pleaded guilty to a DUI in DuPage County Court [yesterday].
His attorney’s name rang a bit of bell, so we did some checking.
Attorney Scott Marquardt is now president and chief legal counsel of Roger C. Marquardt and Co., an influential lobbying firm.
His father, Roger, the firm’s founder, ran James ‘Pate’ Philip (Randy’s stepfather)’s state Senate campaigns.
Marquardt is the lobbyist for DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office, according to the secretary of state’s lobbyist online search tool.
Just to be clear, both father and son are listed as lobsters for the state’s attorney’s office.
Small world.
However, in the old days, there would’ve been no guilty plea. Heck, he probably wouldn’t have been popped in the first place. So, at least there’s progress.
*** UPDATE 3 *** From Paul Darrah, Communications Manager for the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office…
“Just to set the record straight, the case against Mr. Ramey was prosecuted by the Village of Carol Stream, not the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office. It is also my understanding that the disposition reached in the case is typical for a first-time violator.”
* But this isn’t even close to old style…
Brenda Stephens of Chatham [yesterday] resigned a job she started in July as an administrative assistant with the Illinois State Police, agency spokeswoman Monique Bond said.
Stephens, wife of Sangamon County Board member Don Stephens, R-District 5, had been placed on paid administrative leave pending review, and was still within a six-month probationary period. The job paid $34,140 annually. Today’s resignation was effective immediately, Bond said.
On Sept. 15, Don and Brenda Stephens both signed an agreement with Chatham Township to settle a lawsuit brought by the governmental unit that had alleged that when Don Stephens was the elected township supervisor, Brenda Stephens had been overpaid by more than $29,000 for work she did for the township. Under the agreement, $20,000 is being paid back to the township, but neither side admits any liability.
* And this is almost unheard of…
Veteran Cook County prosecutor Laura Morask is used to being the one firing questions at those on the witness stand, but now she finds herself on the hot seat.
On Monday, Morask took the stand in her defense, accused of professional misconduct by the state agency that disciplines lawyers.
At the hearing at the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) offices, Morask, a supervisor at Branch 44 felony court on the city’s West Side, denied wrongdoing. She has been accused of delivering inflammatory and sarcastic closing arguments at three trials years ago and lying during a run for judge in 2008 by mischaracterizing an earlier disciplinary matter. […]
Morask is one of a relative few prosecutors in Illinois over the last three decades to be accused of professional misconduct, according to ARDC records.
That just never happens.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 9:21 am
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Guy was on the state’s attorney payroll and his client STILL had to plead guilty? What a crappy attorney.
Comment by Dirt Digger Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 9:28 am
–However, in the old days, there would’ve been no guilty plea. Heck, he probably wouldn’t have been popped in the first place. So, at least there’s progress.–
So true. Drunk driving used to be if not socially accepted, at least tolerated. And if you got popped, there were fixers galore to make the problem go away.
A true grass-roots movement, MADD, changed that. Non-partisan, non-ideological, they’re position was that it’s just too dangerous to drive drunk and if you do you’ll face serious consequences.
Hats off to the DuPage coppers who popped the DuPage County GOP chair.
And hats off to Ramey for standing up and taking his medicine with no moaning, groaning or excuses.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 9:39 am
What a surprise! Dick Devine defending one of his prosecutors who “misspoke” when making a false statement about her prior discipline.
Good for the ARDC. It’s about time.
Comment by Anonymour Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 9:44 am
Inflammatory and sarcastic closing arguments are professional misconduct now? What rule did she violate?
Comment by Oak Parker Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 9:49 am
Oak Parker — There are rules for what prosecutors can say in closing arguments, including ethical rules and the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice. Prosecutors also cannot ignore rulings by the trial judge.
In reported opinions, Morask was found to have engaged in “intentional and systematic misconduct,” including ignoring rulings from the court on evidence and in closing arguments. Her conduct led to the reversal of convictions. (See the Griffith and Fluker cases.)
Comment by Anonymour Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 10:17 am
Good lord Suzi it’s called a divorce court. Voters really and truly do not care. Try it!
Comment by Dirt Digger Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 11:02 am
Back in the day….It was more fun to hear rumors and whispers of politico shenanigans. You felt like if you knew something discreet, you were connected in some way. The media is a monster, ya’all.
Comment by PaGo Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 11:42 am
Since I am totally unfamiliar with Cook County Criminal Courts, feedback would be appreciated.
During the Blago Trial (One), the media was full of observations that Sam Adams Jr.’s conduct was practically unheard of for Chicago Federal Court, bur rather was the style of the Cook County Criminal Courts. If that is true, what this action is saying is defense attorneys can use “sarcastic” language but prosecutors can’t. Is that really the way things operate in Cook County Criminal Courts? Is this true elsewhere in Illinois?
Comment by Institutional Memory Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 12:01 pm
Laura Morask is up against it again because she has become a target of the defense bar, who are ineffective at defending their “clients” against her, including the Public Defenders office.
She is an exceptionally effective and aggressive prosecutor who gets results for the people vs. (fill in the name of habitual scumbag criminal recidivist offender here).
I’ll side with the people and the juries on this one and support the conversion of suspects into convicts, rather than allowing these criminals back out onto the streets again where they can continue to be a force multiplier for the forces of evil.
Comment by Quinn T. Sential Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 1:16 pm
Lisa Madigan’s office should have been called in to handle the Ramey matter due to the conflict.
Comment by Meanderthal Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 1:26 pm
This Suzi Schmidt situation (try saying that five times fast!) is a mess. But would the SRCC try to nudge her out after spending a small fortune to win back that seat?
Comment by Team Sleep Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 1:57 pm
@ QTS: I am with you 100%. Only guilty people ever get charged with crime. And if you didn’t do what you’re charged with, then you must have been up to something else, otherwise why would be in court? What with the skyrocketing murder rates, rapes and armed robberies occurring in the streets with wanton abandon, it’s appalling that this beacon of liberty and justice should be so wrongfully accused.
Comment by Colossus Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 2:52 pm
anyone familiar with the Leyhane law blog knows why the Morask case is up….she lied about her previous interactions with the ARDC. it’s one thing to deal with sarcasm in court. it is another to claim you were found “not guilty” when what you got was probation. the Leyhane blog is worth the read because that is where her trouble started. as for her worth, most agree that her arguments are recycled bits from prosecutors who worked long ago. who is paying for her defense?
Comment by amalia Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 3:29 pm
What is going on in the Schmidt household? Aren’t they a little far north for “hillbilly love?”
Comment by Jaded Tuesday, Sep 27, 11 @ 4:22 pm