iFramed: Postscript

I've been posting stories here about Vince Testa, who believes he was wrongly convicted in Lake County of resisting arrest; and his efforts to see the misdemeanor conviction reversed. A Sun-Times newspaper, the Lake County News-Sun, has just published a story about Testa called, Man calls Case Review Panel a 'sham,' files lawsuit.

Testa had submitted his case to Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim, who was elected on the promise that he would create an independent Case Review Panel to investigate past convictions. Nerheim accepted Testa's case but declined to overturn his conviction, without explanation.

In one story posted here called iFramed: Epilogue, I noted that the existence of a Case Review Panel in the State's Attorney's office actually raises more questions than it answers.  The recent News-Sun story about Testa does answer some of the questions I raised.

Regarding his Case Review Panel, Michael Nerheim told the News-Sun that ...

the eight-member panel does not hold public sessions or hearings on the cases. Rather he meets with the panel in roundtable discussions once evidence in the cases is reviewed.

He also told the News-Sun that ...

the panel was not intended to take the place of the appeals process, and that its review of cases is a "bonus" for those seeking to have their convictions reversed.

The News-Sun story did not elaborate on what Michael Nerheim meant by the word BONUS.

iFramed: Epilogue

I've posted a series of articles here about Vince Testa, the most recent was called iFramed: Case Closed.Testa's story may be a parable of how justice gets dispensed out of the office of the Lake County State's Attorney.

Mismanagement in that office made it the target of some recent nationwide negative publicity. Michael Nerheim became Lake County's new State's Attorney in 2012. A former prosecutor in the same office, Nerheim was elected on  promises that he would reform that same office. One promise was to create an independent Case Review Panel that would review past cases and could be instrumental in overriding convictions.

Vince Testa, who maintains he was falsely convicted in Lake County of resisting arrest, hoped to obtain exoneration from Nerheim's new Case Review Panel. Testa worked with the system, and his conviction was recommended to the Case Review Panel. But after that, Testa would discover that what had been advertised to be an independent and transparent process turned out to be instead guarded and secretive.

If you or I or anyone needed information about the Case Review Panel, we would first turn to the Lake County State's Attorney's website. But the only substantive information to be found there is a short blurb on a page named, Review and Advisory Board.

Case Review Board and Citizens Advisory Board were sworn in Feburary [sic] 21st, 2013 by Chief Judge Fred Foreman. The Case Review Board were sworn in as special Assitant [sic] State's Attorneys, and will be independent of the Lake County State's Attorney's Office. The Citizens Advisory Board is comprised of diverse community leaders in Lake County to bring a community perspective. All recommendations will be made to State's Attorney Mike Nerheim.

While this explanation may not seem very forthcoming, the Lake County State's Attorney office was even less forthcoming to Testa's inquiries. In his pursuit of justice Testa literally had to make things up as he went along. As things turned out, Testa was not permitted to contact the Case Review Panel. And when his appeal was eventually rejected by Nerheim, Testa was given nothing in the way of an explanation or a record of the deliberative process or even any indication that there had been a deliberative process.

Testa's case leaves more questions unanswered than answered.

Just what is the Case Review Panel?

Who is on the Case Review Panel?

When and where do they meet?

Have they ever met?

Are there minutes or records of meetings?

What is the process of getting a case in front of the Case Review Panel?

Has anyone ever been exonerated?

Can or has Michael Nerheim overridden a Case Review Panel recommendation?

If so, is there a public record of the act?

In what way is the Case Review Panel independent of Michael Nerheim's office?

To put it bluntly, Testa's journey through the Lake County justice system was the sort of bureaucratic nightmare that Kafka satirized. Michael Nerheim was elected on a promise that his Case Review Panel would introduce independence and restore transparency to his office. I haven't seen evidence of either.

iFramed: Case Closed

Four years ago, Vince Testa was charged and convicted in Lake County of resisting arrest. Both the arrest and conviction occurred under questionable circumstances.  Testa adamantly maintains his innocence, and there is video that supports his claim.

This year, Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim made good on an election promise, and created a Case Review Panel.  The panel was to operate independently of Nerheim; and would recommend, back to the State's Attorneys Office, convictions that should be overturned.

Testa had sent his case to Nerheim after the election and requested a review. In March of this year, Testa learned from a Chicago Tribune article that Nerheim was sending his conviction to the Case Review Panel.

Nerheim offered Testa no guidance on how to proceed. He told Testa's attorney that lawyers would not be allowed to present evidence or argument before the Case Review Panel. Testa subsequently sent a letter and his evidence directly to each panel member. It was then that Nerheim contacted Testa, asking him not to contact panel members directly but to go through his office instead.

So, Testa backed off and hoped that Nerheim's panel would at least hear from Mr. Nerheim about his case. No such luck, apparently. On July 19 of this year Michael Nerheim sent Vince Testa a letter.

Nerheim told Testa that he was not going to override Testa's case. Nerheim offered nothing in the way of an explanation other than his decision was reached after careful consideration of the facts and the law.

On July 26, Testa contacted Nerheim and asked him to reconsider.

The citizens of Lake County elected you as States Attorney for the reform you pledged to put in place with your Review Panel. Your theme was that you would restore the public's confidence in the State's Attorney's office. "A prosecutor's job should not be to merely obtain a conviction -- a prosecutor's job is to seek justice," was your campaign slogan. In my case the record of the trial and the video clearly conflict with this theme. Even the newspaper articles about your Case Review Panel raise serious questions about my case. Based on the newspaper articles and editorials, even the reporters don't see these crimes that I was convicted of, to the point where one reporter was willing to state that the police lied in my trial. With that said, and with a proof positive video that there was no crime committed by me, this conviction should be vacated.

Six weeks later, and as of this posting, Vince Testa has heard nothing further from the Lake County State's Attorneys office.

iFramed: Declarations of Independence

When the Chicago Tribune endorsed Michael Nerheim in 2012 they said,

Nerheim tells us he has recruited a panel of volunteer former prosecutors, judges and attorneys to review high-profile cases to prevent wrongful convictions. [Nerheim's opponent, Chris] Kennedy, who served as an assistant state's attorney for four years, wants to form an in-house conviction integrity unit to prevent wrongful convictions. We think an independent outside board of volunteers would be more effective. Nerheim is endorsed.

Soon after Nerheim was elected Lake County State's Attorney, he was contacted by Vince Testa. As I reported last week on this blog, in iFramed: The Case Review Panel, Testa maintains he was wrongly convicted of misdemeanor resisting arrest in Lake County. Furthermore there is convincing video evidence supporting Testa's declaration of innocence.

Testa's case was among the first chosen, in early March, to be presented to the new Case Review Panel.  But despite assurances that theirs would be an open and transparent process, Testa received nothing in the way of guidance from the States Attorney's office on how to proceed.  By late March, Testa was asking his attorney to intercede on his behalf.

In my initial email to Mike Nerheim, and in two subsequent emails, I inquired as to the protocol of bringing my evidence to the review panel. I have not received a direct response as to what procedures should be followed, how to submit evidence, and whether or not this procedure requires an attorney. Understanding that protocol is paramount, and given that I have received no response from Mr. Nerheim in that regard, I would like you to inquire on my behalf as to how to proceed.

Eventually, Testa contacted the Case Review Panel directly, on April 10. He had to obtain the names of the panel members and their contact information from public sources.

Dear
My name is Vincent Testa. In July of 2010 I was convicted of battery to a police officer and resisting arrest from an incident that took place on Jan 19 of that year. I contacted Mike Nerheim in the first days of his term as Lake County State's Attorney asking for an opportunity to have my case reviewed (letter attached). I explained to Mr. Nerheim why I felt that my case deserved review, and I appreciate this opportunity to have the panel examine the record of my conviction.

Testa received a letter from Nerheim, seven days later on April 17, asking him not to contact the Case Review Panel Members directly.

In 2012, Michael Nerheim told the Lake Forest Patch,

I am the only candidate to call for a fully independent Case Review Panel to review old cases and convictions, and to develop protocols for the prosecution of cases with forensic evidence, including DNA, going forward.
[...]
While the Lake County State's Attorney's Office already has a conviction integrity unit to look at past cases and actively seek DNA testing to ensure the validity of convictions (which is similar to the proposal by my opponent), one of the key differences of my proposal is that the Case Review Panel that I propose will be independent of the State's Attorney's Office and will bring a fresh perspective and different set of eyes.

This raises an obvious question, at least in my mind. If ordinary people like you and I are forbidden from contacting Nerheim's independent Case Review Panel, then how independent is it in reality?

Michael Nerheim was elected Lake County State's Attorney on the promise that (unlike his opponent) his Case Review Panel would be independent of his office.  Vince Testa believed Nerheim in this regard, when he sought to obtain an exoneration via the Case Review Process.  Testa subsequently found out, though, that independence may depend on what your definition of independence is.

iFramed: The Case Review Panel

At the axis of Michael Nerheim's successful 2012 campaign was a promise to create a case review panel. Four months after he was elected Lake County State's Attorney, Nerheim selected the first five cases to send to his case review panel.  Four of the cases were felonies. One case, the Chicago Tribune reported, was Vince Testa's.

The only misdemeanor case is that of Vince Testa, who was convicted of battery and resisting arrest after a January 2010 confrontation with police at his home outside Libertyville in which he was shocked with a Taser on video camera. The footage shows the altercation that followed Lake County sheriff's officers' attempts to serve an arrest warrant on Testa's son.

The Chicago Tribune article had two significant observations. The first observation was that none of the cases that Nerheim selected involved DNA evidence. The implication was that without DNA evidence, none of the cases were likely to be overturned.

The Chicago Tribune also observed that along with three murders and a sexual assault, Nerheim chose to review Vince Testa's misdemeanor conviction for resisting arrest.

Why?

One reason is that on December 3, 2012, Testa petitioned Nerheim to review his case.

As I posted on this blog, in iFramed, there is compelling video evidence to believe that Testa was, to use an old fashioned term, railroaded by the Lake County justice system. The video evidence to this effect is available on Testa's website, which is also called iFramed.

If Michael Nerheim ever visited the website, or watched the video, he would have realized that Vince Testa was someone who, at the very least, believed he was innocent, and had taken a lot of time and effort to prove that to others. Testa wrote in his letter to Nerheim,

One of the main reasons we made the documentary was because we had a story we wanted to share with our fellow citizens in Lake County. We wanted our pain and frustration to serve as a warning to others so that they might protect themselves from what we have experienced. [...] Through telling our story we have been contacted by others who have had similar pain and grief, to varying degrees. Their reputations have been ruined, their spirits broken, their faith in our country shattered.

Despite only being a misdemeanor case, Testa's would have had the potential to be another high-profile embarrassment for the office of the Lake County States Attorney, and would probably need to be dealt with quickly.

There is no question in my mind why Nerheim selected Testa's misdemeanor conviction as the fifth case to send to his review panel.

iFramed

On the night of January 19, 2010, Lake County Sheriff Deputies forced their way into the suburban Libertyville home of Vince Testa. A Deputy shot Testa in the back with a Taser, in front of his wife. Testa was bound, taken from his home, and arrested.

Prior to the event, Testa had no criminal record. The Lake County Sheriff's Deputies were at Testa's house to arrest his son for a minor charge, one that was later dismissed. But Testa was charged that night with resisting arrest. The reason? The Sheriff's Deputies would not produce a search warrant for Testa's son, so he refused them entry into his home.

I am not making any of this up.

Testa's unbelievable story is documented on his website, called iFramed. In Vince Testa's own words,

iFramed is the story of police brutality and a road to discovery of the injustices in our legal system, particularly in Lake County, Illinois.

Testa's ordeal, which began almost four years ago, has not ended yet.  It is chronicled in a 75 minute video -- and worth the investment of your time.

Whether or not deserved, Lake County's justice system has a reputation of being as incompetent as it is insular. I believe it is an accurate description and I see little sign that this will be changing any time soon.  The justice system in Lake County has three arms: the Sheriff, the State's Attorney, and the Court.  If you want to see how the three can operate in tandem to do an injustice to one man, then I highly recommend Vince Testa's video.