[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ILLINOIS

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 23



ILLINOIS:

Court orders Daley to talk----Federal judge's ruling clears way for
deposition in cop torture case


In a rare ruling, a federal judge on Thursday ordered Mayor Richard Daley
to answer questions under oath about whether he or others permitted
Chicago police to physically abuse suspects in the 1980s.

Lawyers for pardoned Death Row inmate Madison Hobley had fought for 2
years to take the deposition of Daley, who was Cook County state's
attorney at the time of Hobley's arrest in 1987.

City attorneys have argued that Daley has no information about police
misconduct under former Cmdr. Jon Burge that Hobley's lawyers couldn't get
from other sources.

But on Thursday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Geraldine Soat Brown disagreed.

The facts in Hobley's case "support a conclusion that Mr. Daley may have
information about the activities of Burge and other police officers, about
who in the city and police administration knew about those activities, and
about whether any action was taken on the basis of such knowledge," Brown
wrote.

Brown instructed the two sides to talk about a possible time and place for
Daley's deposition and to be prepared to discuss the issue at a Wednesday
court date.

City officials said Thursday they may appeal Brown's ruling to U.S.
District Judge Marvin Aspen, who is assigned to the case but has referred
preliminary matters to Brown.

"There is a high standard for deposing public officials," Law Department
spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle said. "Our position has been that the mayor has
no unique or new information" about the case.

Brown's ruling came on the same day that U.S. District Chief Judge James
Holderman gave the city until March 22 to respond in writing to claims it
has reneged on a settlement with Hobley and 2 other men who have claimed
police torture.

Attorneys for Hobley, Leroy Orange and Stanley Howard contend they agreed
to a $14.8 million settlement late last year, which the city seemingly has
abandoned.

Daley said this week there was no agreement, and after court Thursday,
city Corporation Counsel Mara Georges stood by that position.

Hobley told reporters outside court Thursday that he is disappointed about
the settlement dispute. "Sadly, it doesn't seem like I can get on with the
rest of my free life," said Hobley.

Brown's ruling, however, was cheered by lawyers for the 3 former inmates.

"It's about time he had to sit and face some serious interrogation about
his role as state's attorney and later as mayor in the long-standing
torture scandal," said Flint Taylor, an attorney for Orange.

Brown's ruling opened the door for Daley to be questioned about a 1982
letter from then-police Supt. Richard Brzeczek regarding signs that police
had abused murder suspect Andrew Wilson. The Illinois Supreme Court later
reversed Wilson's conviction.

"There is evidence that in February 1982, the state's attorney's office,
and perhaps Mr. Daley personally, was put on notice of allegations of
physical abuse of suspects" through the letter, Brown wrote in a 6-page
opinion.

Plaintiffs suing the city have asked to depose Daley in dozens of lawsuits
since he became mayor, but Hoyle said she knew of only 1 or 2 cases in
which he has sat for a deposition.

In the ruling Thursday, Brown said plaintiffs may not use depositions to
harass high-ranking government officials, or merely for "publicity value."

But she said public officials aren't immune from depositions. Brown cited
the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1997 that forced President Bill Clinton
to sit for a deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case.

Kurt Feuer, an attorney for Hobley, said Brown's opinion confirmed his
view that a Cook County special prosecutor had not adequately questioned
Daley during an earlier deposition.

The special prosecutors' report, released last year, concluded that Burge
had engaged in decades of torture, but that he could not be prosecuted
criminally because the statute of limitations had run out.

The special prosecutor's deposition of the mayor "contains little useful
information," Brown wrote.

(source: Chicago Tribune)