Criminal Defense - Kankakee County, Illinois

Sep 05, 2018

OUTCOME: Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict Granted (acquittal)

Last year I was retained to represent a client on the charge of Unlawful Delivery of Controlled Substance (Cocaine) within 1000 Feet of a School (Class 1 Felony). The charge carried with it a minimum p ... rison sentence of 4 years if the client was convicted. The facts of the case were that the defendant was at a party at a family member's home. The co-defendant, the family member's neighbor, came over an offered the defendant some gas money if the defendant would give the co-defendant a ride to his "girlfriend's." The Defendant drove the co-defendant to a motel and the "girlfriend" approached the passenger side of the vehicle. There was a drug exchange at the window (it was dark so the police video didn't show what happened in the vehicle) and a group of undercover police defended on the vehicle. As it turned out, the "girlfriend" was a confidential informant working for the police. The phone used to negotiate the drug transaction was found on the co-defendant and the money used for the exchange was found in the center consul of the vehicle. In June of 2018, my client and I took the case to a jury trial. After six hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of guilty. I was so taken aback by the verdict that I ordered the transcripts and prepared a Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict. After argument, the Court took the motion under advisement. At the next court date, the judge came back and said that, despite having never granted such a motion in his 20+ years on the bench, he was going to grant the defendant's motion. The jury's conviction was set aside and an acquittal was entered.