Woman arrested for Illinois charge of criminal damage to property. Lawyer defends her before jury. Not guilty.
Cook County criminal attorney Lewis Gainor defended a young woman who was charged with criminal damage to property. The incident occurred on June 16, 2006 in the far northern suburb of North Chicago.
The story behind the charge was that the young woman and her girlfriends were at a summer barbeque. A group of neighbors had blocked off the street and started an impromptu block party. She and her girlfriends had drinks and socialized well into the night.
A fight broke out during the block party, and the crowd dispersed. In the melee, someone took a crow bar and shattered the front windshield of a woman's car. Coincidentally, that woman had a grudge against Lewis Gainor's client because of a prior dating relationship. She called the police and blamed her for the damage.
Lewis Gainor appeared on his client's behalf in court in 2007 and demanded a jury trial. He promised his client that he could persuade a jury of 12 people to acquit her.
The trial began on March 20, 2007 in the Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois. The State's Attorney prosecuted the case. Lewis Gainor picked a jury of 12 people and presented his case.
He thoroughly cross-examined the police and all the witnesses for the prosecution. He questioned the woman whose windshield was damaged aggressively. She owned up to the fact that she was hostile to his client because of a prior dating relationship.
After proofs were closed, Lewis Gainor made his closing argument. The jury deliberated for ten minutes only.
They found Lewis Gainor's client not guilty of all charges.
